Chronicles of the Elusive Angel 6: Ganazu
by Kenjaje
Summary: Angel, after finally deciding to live with Stitch and Lilo, is now in the process of getting settled with her decision. However, to her, it seems like things aren't working out. For some reason, no matter how hard she tries, it always seems like she's the
1. Aloha Anxiety

Chronicles of the Elusive Angel:

Ganazu (Volume 6)

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 1: Aloha Anxiety

"It's obvious we should never have entrusted 599 with such technology." Gantu growled as he looked at Hamsterveil through the monitor. The feed fuzzed as he smacked the console. "I hope you made more of those."

"Gantu let me ask one question." Hamsterveil said with a slight annoyance. "Do you _honestly_ believe that I would make such a mistake?" He yelled, leaning over and pointing at Gantu through the monitor.

"And here we go." 625 commented.

"Quiet." Gantu snapped. "What do you mean?" He asked to Hamsterveil. "If you didn't give 599 the latest model…then, what _did _you give her?"

"The defects that were used on 626, of course. Do you not remember me saying we were not to be using any more _living _life forms for our project, hm?"

"I…uh…no. It must've…slipped my mind." He replied, scratching his brow.

"With a head as smooth as yours I'm surprised your eyes don't slip out." 625 chimed in again.

"I said _quiet_!" Gantu ordered, glaring at him threateningly. He only shrugged in response to the intimidation.

"Why don't you _both_ shut up for a change?" Hamsterveil yelled, darting his eyes from one to the other while trying to calm his temper. "Gantu, if any more experiments are activated see to it that 626 and that little earth-child do not get them as usual. Except this time…notify me. I have different plans for an experiment this time."

"Yes-" Gantu began to say, as the monitor blipped out and faded to black. "…Sir."

"Come on Angel!" Lilo yelled, waving back at her from across the street.

"_I…I'm coming_!" She shouted. She took the pendant around her neck and gently bit it to keep it from dragging as she ran on all fours to catch up with Lilo, who was far in front of her.

"You don't want to be late do you?" Lilo asked rhetorically, shifting her duffel bag to the other shoulder.

"_I'd rather not be going at all,_" she replied letting the pendant drop, "_are you _sure _I'm ready for this_?" She looked up at Lilo, a lack of confidence in her four-legged stride. Lilo stopped and knelt down, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You'll do fine." She said, lightly shaking Angel as she spoke. She stood, and latched onto the leash on her way up, to keep Angel from getting behind again. She started to walk, but Angel stood still, and only moved when the slack was depleted, and the leash forced her to walk or be dragged; either way, she was going.

"_But what if I mess up or something_?" She said, as she kept up to stride with Lilo. "_I mean, what if I end up blowing my own cover_?_ I only spent this morning practicing, I don't know if I've got everything down pact. Why couldn't Stitch come_ _again?_" She was beginning to overreact a little, getting flustered over the situation she was put in, which Lilo found a bit funny rather than frustrating. They approached the steps of the Aloha hut, and Lilo stopped again.

"Stitch can't be here because he has to get his shots taken care of." She said, reminding Angel. "I don't think you'll do bad at all." She continued, her tone changing to honesty, "Do you still remember the rules?" She asked quizzically.

"_Um…I think so. Dogs do not talk, dogs walk on all fours at all times, dogs scratch themselves constantly but only with their _back _legs, dogs pant and drool, dogs get fleas, and dogs always stay close to their masters._"

"And the golden rule?" Angel sat upright and placed her hand on her chin, thinking.

"_…Oh yeah! Dogs are not genetically-altered extraterrestrials from outer space bent on destroying societies and civilizations._" Lilo patted her on the head proudly.

"If you remember that much, you'll do perfect." She said. She was still getting used to Angel disguised as a dog; her cranial antennae were pretty much the only things that changed, but their absence sort of irritated Lilo. She didn't know why it bothered her. _"Maybe I'm just not used to it." _She thought as she continued walking.

Despite the reassurance, Angel was still a bit queasy. But she couldn't stay behind; it would be shameful of her to back out, especially because of what happened that morning. She just wished she had a bit more time to prepare. But, if Lilo thought she was ready…

The wooden steps leading up to the porch creaked as they ascended to the door. Angel was a bit disoriented; climbing up stairs on four legs wasn't an instinctive behavior. Lilo smiled as she reached for the doorknob, upon arriving at the top of the stairs, and Angel took a deep breath as she turned it with a _click_,and slowly opened the door.

It was much quieter than Angel expected; aside from a large man and five other girls, the room was completely empty. This made her feel slightly better—the smaller the audience the easier her performance. Lilo stepped in briskly, holding tightly onto Angel's leash.

"Good morning Lilo." Called Moses as she entered the room. Immediately all eyes fell on Angel. The curious glances were piercing; making her lower her ears and back up behind Lilo to buffer their sights. "Who's that hiding behind you? A new pet?" He asked, standing up to approach them.

"Uh-huh," Lilo replied, "this is my new dog, her name is Angel."

"I see." He reached out a hand and put it on Angel's head, she flattened herself down to the ground in response. "A bit scared, isn't she?"

_"You have _no_ idea." _Angel thought, easing up as Moses' hand receded.

"Why don't you introduce Angel to the others while I get things ready?"

"Alright." Lilo happily replied. "Come on, let's go meet the others."

"_Must we?_" Angel whispered. Lilo didn't respond.

"Hey guys, what's up?" She asked, coming closer to the circle. Myrtle's eyes were the first to glare, followed by the others. They had pretended not to pay attention to them in case it would keep her from coming over.

"Nothing." Myrtle replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I got a new dog," she said, "her name's Angel." She moved aside so they could see her. The other girls seemed to like her, Angel observed, but the red-haired one stared down at her almost disapprovingly.

"She looks like she just came from off the street." Myrtle commented, crossing her arms.

"That's because I haven't given her a bath yet. She only showed up late last night."

"Whatever," Myrtle sniffed, "even _with _a bath I bet she'd still look ugly. Not even half as pretty as Gigi."

"Yeah." Came the usual agreement from the other girls. Lilo squinted with disgust and walked away from the béte noire.

"_Who's the pleasantly pessimistic one_?" Angel asked with a dry tone after they were out of earshot.

"That's Myrtle, don't let her get to you." Lilo said, obviously not taking her own advice by the way her tone sounded.

"_Oh don't worry, she's not…yet._" Lilo leaned over and unhooked the leash.

"Just ignore her. Anyway, I'm going to have to start, you can sit here or do whatever you want, just remember not to-"

"Excuse me, Lilo?" Moses asked, stepping up to her.

"Uh, yeah?" She asked rhetorically.

"It's about the presentation that we're supposed to give." He said. "Do you remember?" She looked up at him, at a bit of a loss, but then the memory clicked in.

"Oh yeah, the one where we're going to perform on a stage. What about it?"

"Well, the girls have planned it all out while you were home sick, and I'm afraid that there's only one part left that hasn't been taken. I've reserved it especially for you, that is, if you don't mind."

"Sure, of course not, what is it?" She asked, her hands coming together behind her back, eager to know what her part in the performance was.

"You will be singing a solo." Her arms went down and her face snapped with surprise.

"A-a solo? Sing? M-me?" She stammered, pointing to herself.

"Yes, you." He said with a laugh. "What do you say?"

"I…uh…" Lilo's eyes rolled with worry as she tried to make her decision, and Myrtle spoke up in the mean time.

"You might as well, it'll be a perfect opportunity to show everyone that you can't sing. That is, unless you're too _scared_." Myrtle challenged, putting her hands on her hips and giving an intimidating glance. The other girls laughed.

"M-me? Scared of singing? No way, I'll do it!" She stated, with a smile on her face. Angel looked over at Myrtle as the girl walked forward.

"Alright then, before we begin I'll get your music sheets." Moses said, walking to the other side of the room.

"That's pretty courageous; humiliating yourself in front of a crowd." Myrtle jibed.

"I'm not embarrassed to sing." Lilo retorted, failing to sound supportive of her own statement.

"As if." Myrtle snapped. Angel felt a heavy anger rise up in her. She growled and stepped forward. "Pipe down, you." Myrtle commanded her, but she still stepped forward, growling louder, and bearing her teeth. "I said be _quiet_."

"Angel!" Lilo tried to stop her, but she was too slow. Angel leapt onto Myrtle, pinning her to the ground.

"Naga ji-gato." She barked.

"What?" Myrtle asked through a scream.

"Angel, what's gotten into you? Get off of her!" Lilo shouted, tugging on Angel while Myrtle squirmed underneath. Lilo finally got a good hold under Angel's armpits and lifted her up, while Myrtle struggled to get out. In her thrashing, her hand slipped into the pendant strap, and she took it with her as Angel was pried away. With a roll Myrtle escaped, and the pendant clattered on the ground next to her, and opened up.

"That dog is a threat to society!" Myrtle yelled, as she clambered to her feet. She kicked the open pendant, and noticed something fall out of it. "Huh? What's this?" She said as she bent over to pick it up.

"Angel, calm down!" Lilo said, tightening her hold. Angel finally submitted, and both of them relaxed. Her eyes wandered to Myrtle, and a surge of fear coursed through her.

"_Oh no_." She said with terror. Lilo's ears twitched.

"What?" She asked, looking to see what caught Angel's attention. Myrtle appeared to be reading something. She didn't understand what Angel was so terrified of until she saw the pendant in Myrtle's hand, which made her realize what she was reading.

"_Oh no, oh no, oh no._" Angel repeated.

"What the heck is this?" Myrtle asked perplexedly, turning the paper left and right. "Whatever it is, I can't read it, the handwriting is horrible." A wash of relief poured onto Lilo and Angel's shoulders. "I guess it doesn't really matter then." She said whimsically as she casually tore the paper into shreds.

Lilo saw the immediate look of utter disbelief fall upon Angel's face. She felt Angel shift in her grasp, and realized that she'd been restraining her the entire time. She was about to let her go, but the growl that came from her made Lilo brace for a struggle.

"Angel…calm down…" Lilo said therapeutically. Angel closed her mouth and breathed through her nose for a moment, but then squinted her eyes, bared her teeth, and broke free with a yell.

"Hey! What's gotten into her?" Myrtle shouted as she backed away. Angel dashed forward and bit onto the pendant in the girl's hand, which was easily let go with fright. "Take it, take it!"

"Angel no!" Lilo shouted, grabbing onto the collar around Angel's neck.

"Lilo?" Moses asked worriedly, running to the commotion. "What's going on?"

"Something's gotten into Angel." Lilo replied back, struggling and pulling back on her heels, trying to keep Angel from moving. "I think Myrtle made her mad."

"I did _not_!" Myrtle protested.

"Perhaps you should take Angel home." He interrupted with a yell, pushing the pink dog out of the way. Angel calmed down and merely glared at Myrtle. "Here are the music sheets," Moses sighed, handing them over, "take your dog home and practice the song. Next time you want to bring her, wait until she can control her behavior a little better before you bring her. Ok?" Lilo dropped the papers to her side and looked back at Angel, who was now looking at her with deep, apologetic eyes.

"Alright…" Lilo sighed, walking over and picking up the leash, which she strapped onto Angel's collar, and then to the duffel bag, which she shouldered. "Come on Angel, let's go."

"Forget when she's more behaved, don't _ever_ bring her back!" Myrtle shouted, as Lilo shut the door. Angel squinted with disgust as she felt a large, heavy rock nestle itself down into a nice, quiet, comfortable corner, deep in the pit of her growling stomach.


	2. The Walk Home

Ganazu

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 2: The Walk Home

Angel only made it down the street; she couldn't take the weight and size of the rock, which now reached that of a boulder. But she didn't know what would happen if she apologized—would Lilo understand or would she get angry? She decided to take the gamble, and rather have Lilo be mad at her than feel the boulder get any heavier in her stomach.

"_I'm sorry._" She said finally, almost growling at herself.

"Sorry?" Lilo asked, her voice sounded surprised to Angel, "About what?"

"_Don't brush it off. I messed up and got you kicked out. I blew it._"

"It's not _that _big a deal." She said, shrugging. "Stitch and I always get sent home early." Despite her reasoning, Angel still seemed to feel guilty. "Besides…" Lilo began again, "I don't think you really need to apologize. Not after what Myrtle did." She said with empathy.

_"I'm tired of making up excuses for mistakes." _Angel thought bitterly. _"I still messed up. If I hadn't attacked Myrtle we'd still be-"_

"I guess you lied huh?" Lilo asked rhetorically, bringing Angel out of her thoughts.

"_Lied…about what_? _I'd never lie._" Angel said defensively, shaking her head as Lilo unzipped her duffel bag.

"The letter; you kept it. You said you lost it, but you kept it." Lilo smiled as Angel looked up at her, then continued her task of putting the papers Moses gave her into the bag.

"_That wasn't…_" Angel started to retort, but she realized Lilo wasn't really accusing her of lying, and so trailed her words. For a moment they walked silently; Angel looked at the ground ahead of her, a bit relieved that the stone was gone, while Lilo looked at the sky.

"I don't think I'm ever going to be able to look at a cloud again without being reminded of Zeus." Lilo thought aloud. Angel looked at her, then with her, toward the sky. Long clouds hung like banners at a luau over their heads, turning the heavens from its usual, deep azure to a soft, cotton yellow. "Hard to believe yesterday really happened." She paused in her speech, and looked down at Angel. "_Didn't_ it happen?" She asked.

"_I don't see why not._" Angel said, not understanding why Lilo was questioning the events."_Yeah, it did._" She responded, looking down at her pendant as it gave her proof. "_But you're right,_" she said with realization, "_it_ does_ seem like some kind of dream we all had…or something._" She thought about it for a second, silently, and then said what she pictured aloud. "_It went from scrambled eggs to scrambled feelings._"

"I'm glad it ended ok." Lilo commented with a chuckle.

"_I'm glad it did too…very glad._" Angel remarked, panting a little bit as she slowed her stride. "_I didn't know I could almost lose everything I had in one day._"

"You never lost Stitch," Lilo said with reassurance, "ever since he came home he'd been thinking of how to tell you he still loved you." Angel shook her head.

"_I'm not _just _talking about him._" She said. Lilo gave her a look of confusion, and she smiled back, quietly continuing. "_I was referring to losing you too._"

"_Me_?" Lilo lifted her eyebrow and looked down awkwardly at Angel. "What do you mean by that?"

"_Zeus was about to send all that electricity at us, remember? I started to brace for it, but then I heard your voice, and saw her turn and direct it toward you._" Angel looked away, a bubble started to form in her throat. "_I couldn't do anything…neither could Stitch. We both thought…_" She trailed, swallowing her words. "_Scared the heck out of us._"

"I'm fine." Lilo said comfortingly, realizing what she was getting at.

"_And that's the part I don't understand._" Angel pointed out, covering up her quavering voice. "_That bolt of lightning was precise, but it looked like you weren't hit at all._"

"I wasn't," she chuckled, "I was perfectly fine."

"_How?_" Angel asked with disbelief. "_Not even Stitch can take too much lightning, what made you so invulnerable?_"

"Jumba." Lilo replied. "He gave me something that looked kind of like a watch. He told me it would protect me from the electricity as long as it didn't over-load." She explained. "I don't know how it worked though, you'd have to ask the big guy himself for that answer."

"_So you decided to take a chance and used it when you did. Were you even sure it would work_?"

"Nope." She responded with an innocent grin.

"_Weren't…you scared though_?_ What if it overloaded before Zeus ran out of energy_?" Lilo casually shifted the leash's strap on her wrist to tighten the slack.

"I was only scared at the end, because that's when it _did_ over-load." Angel tightened her lips. "Just before the big flash happened, it overloaded, and then the next thing I remember is waking up because Stitch wouldn't stop nudging me." She finished with a giggle.

_"But if it had overloaded any sooner…" _Angel thought, as she recalled the scenario in her mind. This time, however, she had an understanding of what was going on, and she realized that Lilo had made a rather bold and clever move. If she hadn't have distracted Zeus, yesterday would have ended in an entirely different way.

"_I didn't doubt it for a second, I knew you had something up your sleeve,_" Angel commented casually, falling a bit more behind in pace, "_otherwise you wouldn't have done such a thing. I know you're too smart to risk yourself like that._" Angel let out an airy laugh, and bumped into Lilo's leg. "Soka…" She started to apologize as she backed away, but she paused; she noticed Lilo's posture had changed.

She stopped abruptly, but for what reason Angel didn't know. Was it another experiment? Angel looked to the left, but didn't see anything suspicious. She looked back to Lilo, who hadn't moved. The girl's shoulders were level, her arms were rigid by her sides, and she clutched onto the leash in her hand with a strange grasp. Angel quickly looked around again. Something wasn't right; or was it just her imagination?

"_What's wro-_" Angel started say, but stopped when she looked back at Lilo. She had turned while Angel was looking around. Now that Angel's eyes laid back on her, Angel saw the most peculiar smile on the little girl's face. Angel blinked with confusion, and as quickly as that, Lilo's head turned back around and she started walking again.

Had the leash not reminded Angel to follow, she probably wouldn't have moved; she would have most likely stayed at the curb—watching Lilo walk away while she remained motionless with a perplexed look across her face. She didn't understand why Lilo smiled at her, especially because she looked so solemn. But, Angel felt that, in some way, Lilo was telling her something—something that couldn't be said with words. She didn't know if that was it exactly, but she felt as though she had just come…a little closer to Lilo.

"Hey, Gantu, fur-breath wants ya!" Yelled 625 as he wandered the ship. "Gantu!"

"What?" He shouted in response, banging his head against the third shelf of the fridge.

"Hamsterveil called. He said he wants to talk to you." 625 stepped into the doorway and looked inside the fridge. "Thank goodness you didn't hit the mayonnaise." He remarked as Gantu receded, rubbing his scalp. Ignoring the yellow annoyance, Gantu made his way to the control room, and gazed up at the monitor, where Hamsterveil glared back at him.

"Uh…no experiments have been have activated yet sir." He said, not understanding why the rodent had called.

"That is not important right now. What _is _important is what I've discovered about our first failure. I believe I have isolated the variable that caused the first one to stop functioning." Hamsterveil announced.

"And that would be…"

"A virus." Stated the rodent.

"A computer virus?" Gantu asked.

"A biological virus. It seems that our mistake was using 626's DNA in our first creation, as his genetic composition makes him vulnerable to 'influenza'; a virus that is found on earth." Explained Hamsterveil. Gantu silently wondered why the rodent seemed so calm; earlier he was nearly blowing a fuse, but now he seemed almost tired.

"But I don't see why that would have any effect on what happened. At what point did this 'influenza' virus come into contact with it?" As if to answer Gantu's question, a surveillance recording was displayed on the monitor, while Hamsterveil narrated.

"This is after 624 was tossed aside." He began, as the picture cleared. The scene on the monitor showed the hanger, where he, Hamsterveil, and 625 watched as their creation, Achie-baba Kino, fought against 626. "You will notice the little earth-child, in that failure-of-a-scientist, Jumba's arms," Gantu peered on the screen, and spotted Lilo being cradled by Jumba, "appears rather ill. It was infected with influenza. Clearly it was the cause of Achie-baba Kino's shut-down, and not 626's actions, like we had originally thought." He finished, as the surveillance video blipped off.

"Then this means that all our efforts were for nothing? Capturing 626 and trying to isolate that power he showed was a _mistake_ if it wasn't what brought down Achie-baba Kino." Gantu said with disappointment.

"Not entirely." Hamsterveil chimed, smiling toothily. "It just means we don't need to pursue that action again. Now that I know stopped the first Achie-baba Kino, I know what _not_ to do with the ne-"

"Warning," Interrupted the computer, as the spherical portion lit up, showing the three-dimensional picture of a tall, green experiment with purple bands going across its back, "Experiment 6-0-0 activated. Primary function: alteration of special components to result in teleportation." Hamsterveil's eyes lit with excitement.

"That one will be perfect!" He exclaimed. "Get it!" He commanded.

"Aye aye." Gantu saluted as Hamsterveil cut the feed.


	3. Someone's In The Kitchen

Ganazu

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 3: Someone's In The Kitchen…

The truck's engine puttered as it came to a stop in the dirt in front of the house. Nani stepped out of the vehicle, shutting the door with a heavy force. She walked around to the other side, and opened Stitch's door. He was looking at her expectantly through the glass, and when the sunlight hit his eyes he squinted.

Nani walked up the steps to the house while Stitch was just starting to hop out of the car—literally. He had to jump out, he couldn't grab onto the door handle; his arms were bound with restraints. The cylinders clicked as his two pairs of arms absorbed the landing. He quickly ran to catch up to Nani, who was just now opening the front door.

She strode in casually, giving Stitch a glance on her way in. He sunk his chin into his throat as he looked back up at her from the tops of his eyes. She didn't stop walking. Stitch glared at her back, and ran toward her.

"Eh, eh, eh!" He stated, punching her leg with the handcuffs. Not enough to hurt, but enough to let her know he _really_ wanted them off about now.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I almost forgot." Nani said, rolling her eyes. Stitch turned his head away from her as she took the key from her pocket, and released him. She took the restraints and threw them on the couch with a sigh, and looked back with curiosity as she heard what sounded like metal tearing. Stitch was on the couch with the restraints torn like paper in his hands, smiling at them devilishly as though he'd just won some kind of war. "I can always just order new ones from the Council." She yelled as she went up the stairs.

"Techuta." He snapped at her under his breath.

"Lilo and Angel should be home soon, I'm going to lie down before I have to go to work. Keep an eye on things would ya?"

"Oketaka." Stitch said while sighing, giving her a half-hearted salute. After he heard the door shut, he immediately skulked into the kitchen. Trips to the animal shelter often made him hungry. He looked behind him, waited a moment, and eagerly, yet quietly, lifted his hand. His fingers twiddled against his palm once before he quickly grabbed onto the handle of the fridge, and pulled it open with a muted _click_.

"And no food, you just had breakfast!"

"Doh!" Stitch groaned as he slammed the door with tension. _"So close!" _Feeling defeated, he slumped his shoulders and went to sit down. His claws clicked against the smooth kitchen table as he drummed his fingers, waiting for the girls to get home. He stared at the reflection of the window on the surface of the table, and listened to the quiet, even _tick-tock _of the kitchen clock.

"Kicha agito…" He said with a sudden curious realization. "There no clock in kitchen!" He looked around to make sure, and just as he suspected there wasn't a clock on the wall, yet the _tick-tock-tick-tock _continued. "Gaba chimista…" He said with wonder. He scratched his head as he shifted his ears, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from, but as soon as he started to pinpoint the location, it stopped.

Stitch growled; something was amiss. He sniffed the air. The usual scents came to his nose; Lilo, Nani, Jumba, Pleakley, Angel, his own, and the burnt meat loaf from a week ago. But two smells were recent—Lilo's and Angel's—fresh, like they had just been there not a moment before he entered the kitchen.

He sniffed for the origin of the trail, which led him out into the living room. It started at the door, and meandered—on purpose—up and down the stairs three times, around to the couch where he had just been, and then finally zigzagged into the kitchen, and simply vanished right where he had first smelled it.

He looked around again, bulging his eyes separately to see more without having to move his head much. But it wasn't his eyes that alerted him—it was his ears. Somewhere close by, he heard a _tick_. He looked around; it came from above his head somewhere. He panned the kitchen again, waiting for another noise. He was rewarded with a _tock,_ this time in a different location. He grinned.

_"They got home sooner than we thought." _He looked at the two places where he knew he heard the noises: third cabinet above the shelf from the left of the window, and the big cabinet behind him next to the fridge. "Oh well," he said, acting casual, "guess Lilo and Angel not here yet. Going to wait upstairs in room." He stomped his feet on the ground, walking in place, but lessening his force with each step to create the illusion of him walking away.

Finally, he stood still, and turned without noise toward the cabinet behind him. The door would open, and one of them would look to see if the coast was clear, and thinking that they missed their chance to surprise him, they would come out. That's when he would surprise _them_. He grinned with excitement as the cabinet door creaked open a slight bit. He waited a moment, and then-

"Chibito!" He screamed, as he reached around and pulled the cabinet door open, and reached inside to startle whoever was unfortunate to occupy the hiding place. And the unfortunate occupant surprised him, for it was a pot that had been put inside in such a way, that the handle appeared to be what pushed the door open, not the hand of Lilo or Angel like he expected. Stitch flinched back as the pot fell out of the cabinet and crashed blatantly on the floor.

"What the heck is going on?" Nani screamed, as she ran to the head of the stairs. When she saw Stitch leaning against the table, and the pot on the floor, she sighed. "Should've known." She shrugged, smiling as she walked away.

Stitch let out his breath, and let the shivers out of his arms. When they were gone, he picked up the pot, but almost dropped it again when a last shiver rippled its way through him. He let out a tired, recomposing mumble, and looked up into the cabinet as he proceeded to put the pot back.

"Hi, Stitch!"

"Ah!" he yelled, flinching back and dropping the pot on the floor again. Lilo sat on her knees inside the pantry, and acted as though she'd been there the whole time, or just appeared there out of thin air. Stitch fell back against the table again, his heart racing with shock at the sudden surprise.

"_Oh boochie-boo_!"

"Yah!" He screamed again, as he felt two hands clasp around his ankles. He jumped back up on the table, crouched on all fours, and peeked over to see Angel smiling up at him. His arms and legs shivered as he tried to keep steady and calm. Both of them giggled hysterically as he gasped for air to try and settle his nerves. Lilo emerged from the cabinet, and Angel crawled out from under the table, both of them giving each other a high-five when they stood up.

"Got him!"

"_And good_!"

"You and me should be secret agents." They looked at Stitch, giggled at his reaction one last time, and sat down on either side of the table with a satisfied sigh. Stitch looked left, then right, and raised a corner of his mouth.

"_Naga _regitakka _again_!" He said slowly, catching his breath on each word as his arms and legs finally stopped quivering.

"Don't worry." Lilo assured him.

"_That was a one-timer_." Angel finished. Stitch cracked his neck, and fell back into the chair behind him.

"Well, that was fun. Nice idea Angel."

"Egato." She thanked.

"The look on his face: priceless."

"How did Lilo…?" Stitch started to ask, but trailed on purpose. She knew what he was asking; about how she 'appeared' in the cabinet.

"Hm…well…I would tell you…but then that would ruin the fun of the idea…what do you think Angel, should we tell him?" The stress in her voice suggested she was giving her accomplice a hidden message in her question.

"_Mmm…_" Angel thought, scratching her chin. "Naga." She replied quickly, and followed with a sly grin toward Stitch.

"Alright then, you don't get to know." Lilo said with a happy-cruel tone as she shrugged. "Besides, that would waste our time."

"_Yeah, I want to get started again where we left off this morning._" Angel commented eagerly as she scooted away from the table and stood up.

"Alright, the next thing we have to cover is experiment-rehabilitation." Lilo said as she scooted out and stood up herself. She looked sweetly toward Stitch. "Will you help me, Stitch?" She cooed. He wasn't buying it.

"Mmm…" He thought, scratching his chin. "Naga." He replied quickly, and followed with a sly grin toward them.

"Fine." Lilo said, shrugging off the gesture Stitch gave her, which hurt a bit more deeply than she wanted it to. "Come on Angel, let's go to Jumba's room."

"Oketaka." She said, as she chased after Lilo up the stairs. Stitch tapped his finger against the table, the quietness immediately setting in. Two minutes…three minutes…four minutes…five.

"Rrah." He grumbled, giving up. Hastily he scooted out, and made his way up the stairs to Jumba's room, aware that he was possibly walking further into humiliation. The day had only just begun, already it was The Girls: two—Him: nothing.


	4. ExperimentRehabilitation 101

Ganazu

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 4: Experiment-Rehabilitation 101

"That was more fun than I thought it would be."

"_I told you_." Angel smiled, as they walked down the hall. "_I did that to 625 a lot to occupy my time._" Lilo laughed as she stepped up the stairs and knocked on the door.

"Jumba? Jumba are you there?"

"Jumba's outside," Pleakley answered over a crashing noise, "but you can come in."

"What's he doing out there?" Lilo asked, as she twisted the knob and opened the door. Pleakley turned, only hearing a little bit of her question, and piecing together what was muffled from behind the door.

"He's busy adjusting that huge evaporation contraption on the buggy." He replied, putting some things that were on Jumba's work desk into a small chest.

"Why?" Lilo asked, eyeing the purple gun that sat in the middle of the desk in particular among the other things.

"He's preparing for when Zeus comes back." He answered, lifting the box up onto his chest, then rested it on his head. "But I'll be glad to help if there's anything you need." With an exaggerated grunt, he lifted the box from his head and shoved it up onto a high shelf in the closet, then shut the door with a casual laugh.

"Actually, we need that recent experiment pod. What was it…?" Lilo looked up to the side and strained her memory. "Oh yeah, 050."

"050, huh?" He asked, scratching the back of his head. "I think it's…" He proceeded to the other side of the room, where more of Jumba's contraptions and inventions were stashed. "No…nope…not that…" He muttered, sifting through the objects. Stitch wandered in from the hallway, a sluggish look on his face. Lilo smiled at him kindly, then walked over to Pleakley while he searched. "Not over here…that's not it…and that's _definitely _not it." He mumbled, while Lilo watched impatiently.

"Are you sure it's even here?" Lilo asked, setting her hands on her hips and scanning the pile Pleakley had yet to get to.

"Yeah, sure I'm sure, I saw it just a little while ago…" He replied, standing straight and popping the kinks out of his back. Stitch jumped into the pile and started looking as well, at a much faster pace than Pleakley.

"_Here._" Angel said, as she stepped up behind Lilo and handed her the green pod. She looked at it, then at Angel.

"Where was it?" She asked.

"_By the computer_." Angel pointed back with her thumb.

"Oh yeah, that's right." Pleakley said, thumping his forehead. "Jumba asked me to log it into the database, but then I saw how messy this place was and…well…" Pleakley cleared his throat. "Anyway, what've you got planned for that one?"

"I dunno," Lilo replied, "no idea what it does." Stitch popped out from another section of the pile than from where he entered, and jumped down to the floor, heading for the computer. Angel and Lilo immediately followed and watched the screen as his fingers ticked away at the keys.

"Chaki." Stitch said, jumping out of the chair and offering it to Lilo.

"Thanks." She said, standing on the seat and leaning over to read the monitor. "050, designed to-"

"Decomposition of biodegradable substances, expired and rotten products, uneaten food, and holiday leftovers." Jumba announced, entering the room with a towel scrubbing grease off his hands.

"It doesn't say anything about leftovers…" Lilo noticed, reading the computer.

"I know," Jumba chuckled, "wasn't intended, but worked out pretty well." He put the towel aside and leaned against his desk. "So what are you planning with this one?" He asked, looking at the green orb in her hand.

"You and Pleakley…" Lilo muttered with a smile. "Well, that depends on how evil this one is. Hopefully-" Jumba interrupted her with a deep-gutted laugh.

"050 _evil_?" He laughed again. "Be kidding me. Are finding more evilness out of _toaster_ than 050." Stitch and Angel tilted their heads to the side.

"If 050 isn't evil, why did you make him?" Lilo asked, a little confused.

"Some planets are not liking cleanliness of wastes." Jumba shrugged.

"You mean there are planets that actually _like _rotten food and spoiled milk and stuff like that?"

"Of course. Is being some ways of life."

"What about planets that _need _cleanliness? Maybe we can send it to one of those." She proposed, but then she thought about something. "Unless, of course, he winds up being a total freak about it like Felix…" Stitch moaned and shivered.

"_You alright_?" Angel asked him.

"Felix…blegh." He replied, shaking off the chills of the memory. Angel giggled.

"050 is being as calm as fly: only eating when hungry and is easily being full. Will contact a planet later and see if in need. Is good idea, little girl." He complimented, patting Lilo on the head.

"That's what I'm full of!" She said with a laugh. "C'mon guys," she said to Stitch and Angel, "let's activate it." Briskly they ran down the hall and into the bathroom. Lilo plugged the sink and turned the water on, waiting until it was a good, deep size before turning it off. "Alright cousin," she said, "let's say 'hi'…" The water plopped as she dropped the pod into the pool, and a second later the flash of light and noises came. But over the loud buzz of the pod expanding, they could also hear a deep, booming yell that sounded to Lilo like the monster from the Frankenstein movie she saw the week before.

"Taka je-ba!" Stitch screamed, clutching his ears and running out the room. Angel followed, and then came Lilo, who shut the door. There was an abrupt silence, and then all three of them let go of their heads.

"What…in the world…was _that_?" Nani asked, breathing heavily with surprise, her hair unkempt from lying down..

"Another experiment." Lilo replied cheerfully.

"It sounded more like a _giant_." Nani stated, seizing the doorknob and forcibly opening the door. She jumped back with shock, falling on top of Lilo and Angel, and missed Stitch who flew to the ceiling. "Jumba!" She yelled.

"Nani! You're crushing me!" Lilo screamed.

"_Get up! Get up! Get up!_" They both struggled from underneath her and managed to get her to roll over. Jumba ran down the hall from his room, followed by Pleakley.

"What is going on? Is there problem?"

"_Yes there's a problem_!" She yelled. "I have a giant umbrella of _fur _in my bathroom! What is this thing?" Jumba peered into the bathroom, and saw 050 sitting as quietly as ever. He appeared calm from what Jumba could tell.

"Is only 050. Do not be worrying. Looks big, but is harmless." Lilo peered into the room too, along with Stitch on the ceiling. 050 was apparently an oversized, disheveled mass of long, stringy fur that covered his entire body to the floor. Two large, black eyes were visible near the top of the experiment's head, but the fur that made up his eyebrows overwhelmed them. He had a fairly big sized nose, and a wide, blank smile across his face, like he didn't have the faintest clue where he was, but was still happy.

"He's not big," Lilo said, "he's just really, really shaggy."

"050 isn't too keen with his looks. Is very messy eater." Jumba said with a chuckle as he followed Pleakley back to his room.

"Whatever he is," Nani said, as she started to leave for her room, "find out where he belongs as quick as possible. That walking carpet gives me the creeps."

"He just needs a haircut!" Lilo shouted as Nani shut her door. She sighed, and turned toward Angel, the disturbance now settled. "Well, I suppose we'd better start. To begin with, we've gotta give this big guy a name." She gestured to 050, who seemed distant. Angel nodded, and a second of silence came over them.

"_Wait, you want me to name him_?" She asked, pointing to herself as Stitch dropped from the ceiling behind her.

"Why not? This seems like a good one for you to start with."

"_To start with_?" She asked, tilting her head. "_Start what_?"

"Find its one, true place!" Lilo said with enthusiasm, and a bit of surprise. "Didn't you know that?"

"_Well,_" Angel replied, twiddling her fingers, "_no…I thought you just contained them. I didn't know that they had a 'one, true place'._"

"Every cousin belong somewhere." Stitch explained. "Stitch and Lilo help find place where cousins belong and fit in."

"_You mean so they can use their abilities for a good cause_?" Angel guessed.

"That's right!" Lilo said. "You've got it. And if you're going to live with Stitch and me, you're gonna have to do the same thing. We'll help you figure out where this one belongs, but to give you practice you're calling all the shots."

"_A…alright._" Angel agreed reluctantly. "_A name…huh_?"

"Eh. All cousins need name." Stitch explained.

"_Well…why not just call him _'Shaggy'?" She suggested, after giving up trying to come up with something on her own.

"You sure?" Asked Lilo.

"_Would you rather I call him _'_walking carpet_' _instead_?" She asked sarcastically.

"No, Shaggy's fine." Lilo replied with a smile.

"_Ok…what's next_?"

"Ishkata gutchata." Stitch replied, pushing her into the room.

"_Ah-Stitch!_" Angel started to yell, but her momentum already took her into the bathroom, and three steps away from Shaggy. She looked up, a bit intimidated by his height; he stood nearly a foot and a half taller than she, and that was only _if _he was standing (she couldn't tell). He looked down at her, with that same blank smile, and she smiled back, showing her teeth nervously while she waved. "Uh…gutcha…miga-" Shaggy let out a gruff like he was angry, or at least that's what Angel's first assumption was. She put her hand out to shake his, hoping that if he were angry, that would calm him. "Miga Angel."

His smile must have turned crooked in the corners of his mouth because that's what his ragged, bushy fur suggested. Angel's ears lowered with patience or fear. Whichever the two, she was wired to run, because as soon as he leaned over she saw that as her warning and bolted out the door with a low yell, and took refuge behind Stitch. Shaggy titled his head with confusion.

"Angel, he's not gonna bite or anything." Lilo said, a little irritated. "Watch." She confidently stepped into the room, with a friendly stride. Shaggy was standing low to the ground on four big, wide paws. Apparently his only height was in his neck, as his body seemed small compared to his head, which now fanned large ears with the same unkempt fur. "Hi Shaggy," she said cheerfully, extending her hand, "I'm Lilo, and behind me is Stitch and Angel."

Shaggy looked at her hand hesitantly, not sure of what she was doing. But, after a moment, his cheerful smile crossed his face, except this time he seemed caught up with the moment rather than distant. He let out a little gruff, and promptly engulfed Lilo's hand in his mouth.

"_Lilo_!" Angel yelled, thinking that when Shaggy would retreat, her hand would be missing. When she tried to run, Stitch stopped her. When she looked back at him coldly, and tried to get free, he smiled and tightened his grip.

"Whoa!" Lilo said with amazement as Shaggy let her go. A green liquid surrounded her hand. It felt thick and slimy, and it dripped to the floor in large globs with a _plop_. "It's like swamp water!" She exclaimed, rubbing her hands together to play with it.

"_I _don't _think that's sanitary…_" Angel warned.

"Why not? Doesn't hurt." Lilo said, wringing her hands of the thick saliva. She went over to the sink and washed. "You should try it Stitch, it feels _so _weird."

"Oketaka!" He said, running to Shaggy to "shake" hands, but Angel stopped him as he passed her. "Gaba?"

"_Hands that touch that stuff won't touch me, just keep that in mind._" She warned him. He looked at her and gave an upset groan.

"Catchoota." He pouted, folding his arms.

"_I'm sorry, but it stops with picking my nose with my tongue._" She reasoned. He released his arms and looked at her sadly, but nodded.

"Alright," Lilo came in, wringing her hands again, "now we've gotta find this guy's one, true place. Any ideas, Angel?"

"_Well…he eats garbage. Is there a place around here where there's a lot of garbage_?" She asked. Though, she silently wondered if Lilo already thought of his one, true place.

"Yup, as a matter of fact there is. Stitch?"

"Eh?" He replied, saluting with attention in response to the militaristic tone in her voice.

"We're taking a trip to the landfill. Go make a leash out of something big for Shaggy. And Angel, you come with me. We're going to be there for a while so we'd better pack some lunch." With an agreeing "ok", they all broke into the assigned teams. Shaggy, not given an assignment, was left to follow one of the groups, so he chose to go with Stitch.


	5. Solo To Duet

Ganazu

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 5: Solo To Duet

"That was the most fun I've had in a long time!" Lilo shouted as she charged through the front door.

"Eh-chuga." Agreed Stitch as he followed her in.

"_Yeah…I guess so…_" Angel muttered last, as she slowly stepped in and shut the door behind her.

"Aw come on Angel," Lilo said, stopping and putting an arm around her shoulder once she came by, "cheer up, Shaggy knows you didn't mean to hurt him. It was all just a misunderstanding." Stitch turned and patted her on the head in an attempt to liven her spirits as well.

"_I know, I just feel bad about it. He wouldn't get near me for an hour…and I didn't even get a chance to apologize._"

"Stitch said sorry for Angel before leaving, not worry." Stitch said.

"See? He got the message. Besides, you were the one that found the best spot with all that food for him, and you're the one that suggested the landfill in the first place-"

"Oh is _that _where you three were all day?" Nani interrupted coldly. The three turned their heads toward the stairs where she leaned against the wall, tapping her foot on the floor.

"Uh…" Lilo said, letting out a nervous laugh and uneasy grin. "Didn't we tell you? I could've sworn we did…" She lied, scratching the back of her head. _"Great…in for it now. What did we do?"_

"Oh, _now _you think to tell me. That would have been nice to know _before _I woke up and found the house empty. I thought I slept through another Gantu invasion or something."

"Didn't Jumba and Pleakley tell you?" She asked, trying to shift the blame toward them. _"Lesson learned, can we go upstairs now?"_

"They went to the store before I woke up. _They _told me because _they _left a note." Stitch let his ears down and gave Lilo a couple quick, light jabs to the shoulder, telling her to give up the fight.

"Alright," she said, defeated, "I'm sorry. I should've told you."

"I'm glad you understand your mistake. Under normal circumstances, I would punish you, but," Nani started to walk over, but then the reeking stench of garbage and rot bombarded her nostrils, "Ugh!" She yelled, backing away and putting her hands up to push the palpable odor away. "Don't tell me you went _into _the landfill!" She said with surprise.

"Uh…ok, we won't tell you then." Lilo shrugged. Though she had a feeling that even if she didn't, she was still in for it.

"Bath, _now_." Nani ordered, pleadingly more than demandingly. "And while you're at it, take two, and then bleach the tub!" She finished, gasping for air. Stitch sniffed his armpits.

"Gaba shijaka?" He asked to Lilo, lifting his hands in a shrug.

"I think we smell really, really bad." Lilo told him.

"_I don't smell anything…_" Angel commented, looking at her hands. "_Are you sure?_"

"I said _now_!" Nani yelled desperate for air as she ran behind them and pushed them toward the stairs. "Go, go, go." She said, trying not to inhale. After getting the drift they took off up the stairs and into the tower.

"You two wait here, I'll take my first one now, then give you yours, then take my second one." She said, while running to the closet to get her swimsuit. "Stitch, you're next, so be ready." She warned, as she lowered through the floor.

Ten minutes later, Lilo stepped onto the elevator again as it rose into her room. She was hastily dried; water still dripped from her hair and fingertips, and she left a trail of it as she walked. When she arrived at the top, she immediately noticed Stitch's absence. Angel was sitting on her bed, and she was reading something in her hands. At first, Lilo thought it was the letter she wrote, but then she remembered that it no longer existed as of that morning; it'd been in pieces for almost nine hours now.

"Alright, where is he?" Lilo asked, looking around the room a final time in case she spotted him hiding somewhere.

"_Huh_? _What do you mean_?" Angel asked, as she lifted her head from what she was reading.

"He knew he was next, so where did he go?" Lilo started to sound impatient, and Angel was getting more confused.

"_I don't know where he went_." She said truthfully.

"I'll bet." Lilo accused. "Where is he, or do I have 'ta force it out of ya?" She said with smile. Angel raised an eyebrow and straightened her ears.

"_You think I'm lying_?" She asked with realization.

"Well, yeah." Lilo replied matter-of-factly. "He obviously is hiding somewhere and he told you not to spill the beans. Well I warn you, I'm tough. _Very _tough." Lilo finished arrogantly.

"_I'm telling the truth_! _I have no idea where he went. He said he was going downstairs to wait until you were done. I told him not to, because then Nani might get angry at him for stinking it up down there, but he went anyway_." Angel explained.

"Hm…" Lilo thought, tapping her foot. "And how long ago was this, exactly?" She asked.

"_Two, maybe three minutes ago._" Angel replied with a shrug.

"All right…I'll trust you." Lilo finally said. "That is, if you help me hunt him down."

"_Hunt him down? What'd he do?_" Angel asked with surprise.

"He ran away from his bath…again. He hates taking them, so he runs and hides." Lilo explained. Angel's shoulders jerked up with a chuckle, and then she burst into a small laughing fit.

"_Alright_," she said, "_I'll help you hunt him down_."

"Good. I think I know where he is, come on." Lilo said, running to the elevator. Angel looked down at the papers in her hand, and back up at Lilo.

"_Wait a minute, before we go, can you answer a question_?" Lilo turned around, and saw Angel pointing at the piece of paper in her hands.

"Sure, I can try." She replied while returning to Angel. Angel handed her the paper, and she realized it was the music sheets Moses had given her earlier that morning.

"_I get that these symbols_," Angel began, pointing at the notes, "_are some form of musical writing, but I can't figure it out._" Lilo looked at the notes, and wanted to ask why Angel was so curious about them, but decided to answer the question first.

"These are notes," she replied, "they tell you how high or low to sing. And these lines here," she pointed at the staff, "are all the highs and lows."

"_And then where each note is, that's the tone you sing in at that point_?"

"Exactly." Lilo confirmed. "But, they can fall in the spaces sometimes, too." She pointed out.

"_Then what's this note_?" Angel asked, pointing to the first one, which rested below the long lines on a little tiny line of its own.

"That's 'Do'." Lilo stated.

"_Oh…but I meant, what does it sound like_? _Can you let me hear it_?"

"You want me to sing it?" She asked, somewhat surprised.

"_Well, yeah, but you don't have to._" Angel replied.

"You're right, I don't." Lilo said matter-of-factly. Angel gave a look at her, but she returned it with an understanding smile. "No, I don't mean I'm not going to show you what it sounds like," she explained, "I mean I can play it for you on the guitar." Lilo went toward the closet, and Angel followed, peering in as the item was searched for. Finally, with a triumphant "Aha!" she pulled the little guitar out from the closet, which brought forth an avalanche of other small things they'd packed away when they "cleaned" their room.

Lilo plopped on the floor and rested the guitar in her lap. She adjusted the knobs at the top to tune it as Angel sat on her bed, and then plucked one of the strings. Angel let the note ring in her ear; her mind worked to memorize it.

"Ok, _this _is Do." She plucked the string on the word "this", and the note _ponged_ through the air. But when it hit Angel's ears, it was obscured by Lilo's voice.

"_Could you play it again, silently, please_?" She requested. Lilo looked at her for a second, then shrugged. This time the note was clear and sonorous as Angel let it ring in her ears. She mentally recorded the sound, and began thinking. Lilo looked back at Angel as the note stopped and smiled.

"Got it?" She asked, but Angel didn't respond. "…Angel?" Lilo tried to get her attention again. She was looking down at the music sheet, the shine on her eyes moving right to left as she read the notes. After another moment, Angel dropped the paper from her attention. "Why did you want to know what it sounded like?" Lilo asked.

"_Because, I wanted to know what the song sounded like_." She said bluntly, setting the sheet down by her side.

"Oh." She said slowly, setting the guitar aside. But then she paused. "Wait a minute," she started with disbelief, looking back at Angel, "are you saying you know what that entire song sounds like just by having me play that one note?"

"_Yeah._" Angel replied, matter-of-factly, and then she dawned a smug smile. "_It sounds good, too._" She commented.

"But…" Lilo started. "I thought you couldn't read that music…you didn't even know what the notes were!" She pointed out. Angel tilted her head, wondering why Lilo was so surprised. But then she realized, Lilo didn't really know.

"_Well…let's just say it's one of my abilities._" She explained. "_It's kind of like Stitch being able to lift three-thousand times his own weight; I can figure out musical things very easily, as long as I know what's what._" Lilo gave an intrigued smile. "_But, as far as the words go…I'm at a loss. But hey, I'll get to hear them when you sing_!" She said cheerfully. Lilo's smile dropped.

"Y…yeah. The solo…that's right…" Lilo remembered. She gripped the guitar tightly in her hands. Angel could see the aura of nervousness surrounding her.

"_A little anxious are you_?" She asked rhetorically with a laugh.

"I wish…" Lilo jeered, loosening her grip on the handle. "I sing horribly. The solo's gonna be a nightmare."

"_That's not true_!" Angel retorted. "_You sing just fine._"

"How do you know?"

"_I heard you, remember, the space station_?" Lilo thought back, the memory coming to her mind.

"That was…different. I had to, it helped him get back to normal."

"_But still, you did, and I liked it. Personally, I can't wait to hear you sing._" Angel complimented. But, despite the uplifting, Lilo didn't seem to be affected by it. She turned to the closet and put up the guitar.

"Sorry to disappoint you…but I think I'm going to tell Moses to take me out. I don't sing, I dance; the solo isn't gonna work." She stated conclusively. Angel snapped to a stand from the bed.

"_No you're not._" She protested, stomping over to Lilo. "_You thought I could go into public this morning, despite what I said, and you encouraged me. Now it's my turn._" As Lilo turned around, she was met with Angel's—almost motherly—scolding look. She flinched with surprise.

"Well, if you compare it to this morning than I should _really _drop out-" She said jokingly, but Angel interrupted her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"_That's not the point._" She said. "_The point is, I_ know _this is something_ _you can do. You're _going _to sing—I don't care what you say._" Angel surprised even herself for being so snappy; she sounded more threatening than encouraging now, which would further Lilo's decision to back out, most likely. So she thought for a second, and then continued, this time with a friendly voice and smile. "_Because I'm going to sing with you._" Lilo stared at her for a moment, a little bit startled, but then she regained her composure.

"Nah, you don't have-" Lilo started to say.

"_I know I don't. I _want _to._" Angel said, releasing her hand from Lilo's shoulder. She gave a smile, and turned toward the elevator. "_Now, let's go hunt down Stitch_." She said, changing the subject. Just then, a horrible scratching sound erupted above their heads, like someone trying to hang on for dear life but slipping. Lilo and Angel ran to the window as they heard a loud scream, and both of them cringed as they heard the bone-crunching noise of the landing.

The girls opened the window to see Stitch, laying on his back, in the grass, three stories down, with a dazed look on his face. A second later, they heard the door below them open up, and they saw Nani's head poke out the house. She stared at Stitch, lying in his little impact-made crater, then up at the girls who looked down at her from the window.

"Ok…I'm not even going to _try _to understand _this _one." She said, dropping the situation. "Since you're all here I guess I'll save myself a trip up the stairs and tell you that dinner will be ready in about an hour. I want you three clean by then, got it?"

"Yes, Nani." Lilo replied, as her sister receded into the house.

"_C'mon._" Angel said, as thrilled as one of those nature guys Lilo saw on T.V. when they had just spotted something really neat. She jumped out the window and hooked onto the wall. "_Let's get him before he gets away again_!"


	6. Angelica

Ganazu

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 6: Angel…ica

_"Was it really necessary to take _two _baths_?" Angel thought, tapping her feet against the bed. She ran a hand through her hair—still wet—and ruffled it up. "_You're awfully quiet._" She commented, getting Stitch's attention.

"Stitch just tired…and hungry." He said, his stomach growling loudly.

"_Well the hungry part is obvious._" She said with a chuckle, stretching on her bed. "_Too bad we can't eat until Lilo bleaches the tub._"

"Nani naga jokibba?"

"_Nope, she was serious. I would be helping her but that stuff gives me a headache…the smell is unbelievably strong._" She looked out the window at the night sky. Not a cloud was in sight. She sighed, not wanting to think about yesterday. "_Are you glad?_" She asked, out of the blue.

"What about?" He asked back, his thoughts interrupted.

"_About me staying._"

"Agochuba." He replied, hanging his head over the edge of his bed to look at her upside-down. She tilted her head to the left.

"_Well you're easy to please._" She said with a smile.

"Stitch glad either way. Long as Stitch and Angel together." He said, clapping his hands, sort of to emphasize his words. He rolled, too far back, and fell with a flip onto the floor. Angel couldn't help but laugh. With a moment of reorientation he was back on the bed, sitting as if nothing happened. "Hm…uh…how was morning?" He asked, trying to bring up a conversation to pass the time.

"_Well,_" Angel said, "_it started off ok…but then I got into some trouble._"

"Gaba?" He asked, begging her to go on.

"_I attacked that one girl…Myrtle._" She told him bitterly. He grinned happily.

"Trekaba chibito!" He exclaimed.

"_What you mean 'good job'_?" She asked with disbelief at his praise. "_I got us kicked out early and everything. How can that be a 'good job'_?"

"Why agata?" He asked.

"_Because…she was being despicable to Lilo. _And_ she took my pendant._" Angel sneered.

"Ah, Myrtle had it coming." He snickered. "Sooner or later."

"_You and Lilo…_" She said with a sigh.

"What about me?" Lilo asked, coming up from the elevator. Both Stitch and Angel ran toward her, but within a foot of her they fell over, they're eyes bulged and their heads spinning. "What?" Lilo asked, "I took the bath, I don't smell anymore!"

"Naga…" Angel muttered.

"Bleach…" Stitch finished. Both of them turned and started crawling away.

"Well _yeah_, I did have to bleach the tub. Nani's orders, remember?" She rolled her eyes. "Maybe if I change it won't smell as bad." She suggested, walking to the closet. "You guys go ahead, I'll be down in a second." She told them. She heard Stitch yell "Food!" and jump down the elevator shaft.

"_Hey._" Lilo heard Angel say behind the door.

"Huh?" She asked.

"_Are we going to practice the song after dinner_?"

"Sure, I guess. We have to; I think we're going to rehearse it tomorrow." She replied. She heard Angel's footsteps receding away. "Hey Angel?" She yelled back.

"Gaba?"

"Thanks."

"Lilo! Get up! You're late!" Screamed Nani.

"Huh?" Lilo mumbled, squinting her eyes. She looked over at the alarm clock. "Oh man!" She jumped out of bed and ran across the room to Stitch and Angel. "Guys, guys, get up, we're late for practice!"

"Huh?"

"Gaba?"

"We're _late_, hurry up!" Lilo shouted as she ran into the closet. Their grogginess was abruptly swept away with Lilo's frustrated voice. They forced themselves to hop off their beds, skip the wakeup-warm up, and jump right into the pandemonium.

Lilo busted out of the closet in her hula costume with a bang and jumped on the elevator, followed by Angel, and then Stitch, who jumped down a good few seconds after it departed. When they reached the bottom, Lilo was the first to dash out into the bathroom. She grabbed her toothbrush and squirted the tube of paste, but nothing came out.

"Argh!" She grunted with frustration, shaking the tube. "Come on! Come on! Com-" With a sputter, the tube finally worked, and splattered toothpaste everywhere. "Oh great…" She said sarcastically. Stitch came in, tilted his head to the side, and then licked the paste off of her, burping afterward. It was an odd combination of his morning-breath scented with mint. Lilo frantically brushed her teeth and bolted out the bathroom door.

"_Hey, watch it_!" Angel warned as Lilo almost knocked her over. She put a hand on the wall to keep her balance, then let go once she was steady, only to have Stitch knock her over on his way out.

"Sorry." He apologized mechanically. Angel recovered and started her run down the hall with a huff. When she got downstairs, Stitch and Lilo were already at the table, just about to eat some buttered toast. Swiftly, just as Stitch tossed his bread into the air, she jumped on the chair and bounded toward the morsel, catching it in her mouth before it reached the peak of its loop. "Hey!" He yelled as she landed.

"Soka." She said mechanically, and shrugged.

"She needs it more," Lilo reasoned with a full mouth, then downed her orange juice and finished her statement, "she's singing today. We'll get something for you on the way back ok?" She said, patting him on the head. He raised an eyebrow. "C'mon, no time." She commanded, running to the door.

"_Wait, don't forget the sheets._" Angel said, reminding her.

"Oh yeah! And we also need to come up with a disguise for you." She said to Angel.

"_A disguise_?" Angel asked, following her up the stairs.

"Yeah, we can't have you go as Angel, remember? If you're going to sing you've gotta pretend to be a human." Lilo's explanation started on the elevator, and finished with her head in the closet upstairs.

"_First a dog, now a human._" Angel commented, as Lilo ruffled through some of her dresses.

"Here, put this one on, it's clean, I think." She said, handing her a green one with white leaves. Angel put it on, having trouble fitting it over her tail. "And put on these sandals too."

"_Are you sure they'll fit_?" Angel asked, laying her foot on one. The answer was obvious, so Lilo put them back. "_Well, do I look like a human_?" She asked.

"Um…" Lilo murmured, scrutinizing her appearance while Stitch climbed his way into view from the elevator. "You're antennae." She pointed out.

"_Oh yeah._" Angel said, immediately retracting them. "_Now_?"

"Looks good to me." Lilo approved, after a quick glance. "Stitch?" She asked. He let out a loud, slick whistle of approval, which made Angel blush a little. "Alright; looks like we're ready; let's go." She said, grabbing her duffel bag.

"Sorry I'm late!" Lilo announced as she came through the door.

"Oh _great_, she came." Myrtle said with disgust. Stitch noticed a change in Angel's posture, and put a hand on her shoulder, sensing the irritation in her. She looked back at him, unaware of the change herself that he saw.

"Well, Lilo, I was beginning to think you weren't coming today." Moses said from his seat in front of the stage. The other girls were in costume and standing on the stage. Apparently the rehearsal had started. "After they're done we'll move onto the solo." He told her.

"Well, actually, I wanted to ask you if-"

"Ok Myrtle, whenever you're ready."

"All right girls, from the top." Lilo shook her head impatiently. She shrugged at Angel and walked toward the chairs, sitting down in the back row. Angel sat next to her, and Stitch sat on the floor, playing the part of "the dog".

"_You'll get your chance._" Angel said to Lilo.

"Yeah I know. I just want to ask him quick. I don't want Myrtle getting in the way. I mean, what if she convinces him not to let you sing with me?" She asked.

"_Oh he'll let me. And if he doesn't on his own, I'll just make him._" Lilo raised her eyebrow.

"How?" She asked, a little uneasily. If Angel intended on doing something dangerous…

"_Simple; the same way I can turn people from good to bad and vise-versa. Just hypnotize him into saying yes._" Angel explained. Lilo thought about it.

"Doesn't seem right…but then again I don't want to go up there alone."

"Lilo?" Moses asked.

"Uh-huh?"

"It's your turn." Lilo hopped off the chair and wandered toward Moses, running the proposition through her mind again.

"Before I go up can I ask something?" She started rhetorically.

"I don't see why not." He replied.

"My friend here," she pointed to Angel, "Angel," she held her tongue on the "l", realizing she was going to slip up if she didn't think of something fast, "…ica, heard about the performance we're doing, and she wanted to know if she could sing with me on stage." Lilo explained. "I know it's supposed to be a solo, but she's really good at singing."

"Well, let's see, go on up and show me." He said with a smile. They both nodded. Angel was a bit relieved that the man didn't recognize her from yesterday—the only thing different about her was the dress. Either it was just really convincing, or these people needed glasses.

"_Angelica_?" Angel asked with a little bit of curiosity and annoyance.

"Sorry, I had to come up with something different. You see, if I said 'Angel' he might've gotten some ideas. You've gotta keep on your toes when you're an experiment in disguise. Especially because grown-ups have some kind of 'meeting' where they tell each other secrets, and if one finds out about you cousins, we'll be in a lotta trouble."

"_All right, all right._" She agreed, walking up the stairs to the stage. Myrtle and the other girls were watching from the back row, and Stitch had moved up to the front, still sitting like a dog on the floor. Lilo felt a little nervous as all the eyes followed her and Angel. "_Don't forget about the tricky part._" Angel whispered, before they stepped into place.

"Whenever you're ready." Moses said.

"One…two…three…four…" Stitch tilted his head after Lilo counted the beats. Angel started singing right away—perfectly and smoothly. His ears involuntarily perked at the high notes and dropped at the low notes, and returned to normal in the middle. Lilo started off shakily at first, but she got better half a minute or so into the song. After a few minutes, the ringing noise left Stitch's ears and he realized the song was over.

"Very good." Moses said, clapping his hands. Lilo stared into the audience: Stitch looked dazed, and Myrtle sat with her arms across her stomach, and her mouth slightly ajar at an angle. "You two work excellently together. I definitely think you two should perform as a duet. Now, Lilo, you were a little off in the first part, could you do it aga-" The phone rang in the back of the room, and Moses told everyone to wait a moment while he answered it.

"How did I do?" Lilo asked, her neck and cheeks warm with nervousness.

"_Better than you think_." Angel replied.

"Looks like we're a duet then. You're hypnotizing plan worked."

"_What hypnotizing plan_?" Angel asked with a smile. "_I can't hypnotize people to say yes. I can only make them good or evil._" Lilo gave a meek smile back. Angel fooled her good. But Lilo knew she only did it to give her confidence. Moses hung up the phone, and walked back over to the center of the room, with a disappointed frown on his face.

"Ready Moses?" Lilo shouted.

"Actually…everyone…I have an announcement to make." He said, with an unhappy sigh. "It appears that the band that volunteered to play the songs during our performance had to cancel due to another opportunity." He explained. "I'm afraid that unless another band can take their place, we won't be able to put on the show until as much as two months from now." Angel glared.

"_What…_" She said with disbelief.

"Man…just when I was gonna be the _star_, too." Myrtle whined.

_"I don't believe this…" _Angel thought, looking at Lilo. _"How unfair! I finally get a chance to do something I know I can do without messing up…and now _this _has to happen." _ She sighed. "Soka, Lilo"

"Me too…this is horrible." She pouted. "Just when I was all worked up to sing, too." She looked at Angel. "If only Jumba made more experiments that were musical, like you, then maybe we could…" She started to trail in her words, an idea hitting her. She smiled with excitement. "We can! Moses! I know a band! They're great—they're friends of Angelica's. They play really good."

"Are you sure they'll agree on such short notice, though?" He asked.

"Sure, if we give them time to practice. We'll go see if they'll do it for us right now."

"All right. We'll end early today, and you can have your sister call me later to tell me the news." He said, clapping his hands. "Until then, keep practicing." Lilo and Angel ran down the steps of the stage to meet Stitch, who was smiling with curiosity.

"They're probably weird." Angel heard Myrtle say as the girls left through the door. Her glare receded as she saw the red hair disappear. Her attention turned toward Lilo.

"_Uh…Lilo…about this 'band that I know of'…who are they_?"

"You said that all our cousins were at a shelter during the floods right?" Lilo asked.

"_Yeah, we were all there._" Angel replied.

"Well then, lead the way." Lilo ordered happily. Angel looked at Stitch. He could immediately tell she didn't like this idea, by the look on her face, and he remembered her saying that the experiments had treated her harshly in the past. Angel requested that he not tell Lilo about that, but it looks like she's going to find out anyway, despite Angel's attempts to keep it hidden. Now, it's a train wreck waiting to happen for her.


	7. Mistakes

Ganazu

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 7: Mistakes

Lilo paused and stared up at the sun, which was now almost above her head. A single leaf at the top of the canopy blocked most of the blazing light, allowing her to glance at it for a few seconds longer. Sweat trickled down her neck in little drops constantly, and in one big smear on occasion. The water on her neck reminded her of the water hanging at her side, held by a strap over her shoulder.

She pulled the bottle out of the little holder, and drank a few gulps, putting it back. The liquid was both rejuvenating and teasing; the more she drank the more she wanted in order to relieve her thirst. But the bottle was a little under three-fourth's full, and they had been wondering for about half an hour, so she didn't want to drink too quickly and waste it all on the way there.

Angel had requested that they go back to the house and get ready, "_It'll be a long trip,_" she said, "_it may take us a long time to get there._" Angel hoped that by describing how long and boring the trip would be, she would be able to discourage Lilo from going, but somehow she knew it was a pitiful attempt. _"When she's got an idea she hangs onto it with a vice-grip. But it was worth a shot…" _At least she felt better; she didn't want to worry about dehydration, and she also wanted to get rid of the dress, as she felt it restricted her mobility.

Stitch, who was last in line, felt a sort of empathy for Angel. He thought about what she said two nights ago, about how the other cousins had treated her badly because they _claimed _she was evil. Once she told him, he was immediately irritated—it was simple logic to him now; it was a horrible thing to accuse someone of being anything bad, _especially _when it was a lie. He wondered why they would do such a thing; didn't they understand that was cruel? And what about all of the things he and Lilo taught them: be good, use your abilities for a cause rather than for destruction, fit into society quietly, and above all was the concept of O'hana. O'hana alone should be enough reasoning itself.

He felt there was something fishy—something didn't add up. The others were smart. Smart enough to put family before personal grudges. Or _was_ this a grudge? It could be just a misunderstanding. Angel didn't explain too much, only that she wanted him not to worry about it; that she would take care of it.

He wanted to know what happened; he wanted to know what they said, did, and most of all, their attitude. If they had brought up good points to accuse her of being "evil", that might be understandable by a small margin, and then they could reason with them. But, if they tossed the word around on the tips of their tongues because one said it was so, _that_ was different. He didn't want to make too quick a judgment yet; it might complicate things for Angel.

He thought about her, upon his mind mentioning her name in his decision. He wondered how she was feeling. When she had first arrived two nights ago, Angel told Lilo and him that she was swept away by the water. That was highly convincing; she was muddy and soaked to the skin when she arrived, much like how he and Lilo were when they were swept away in the water.

But then, when she told him about what _really _happened, and asked him not to get angry, she also asked that he not tell Lilo. He kept her request without question, but now Lilo was going to accidentally find out about it anyway. He tried to think of what would happen—how everyone would react, especially Lilo—but there were too many possibilities, and he couldn't be sure of anything. He just hoped this wouldn't go the way he imagined it.

_"What am I going to say?" _Angel thought, pausing as she looked around. _"'Hi everyone! Look, I know you think I'm evil, so I came to ask if you'd like to come play as a band with Lilo and me'." _She shook her head and continued on, leading the other two. _"Maybe they'll agree…I mean after all, they like Lilo—they'd do anything for Lilo. But chances are, they won't do anything if I'm involved. I'm just a pestiferous outcast to them. …At least I've got one friend outside of the house._" She thought, with Slushy in her mind. She wondered why he stood up for her. He was the only one out of all of them that thought differently.

"_I can't believe _any _of you would say such a thing to one of our own_!" He shouted with dismay over the sound of the storm. "_What honestly makes you think she's evil_? _Give me one good reason why I should believe any of you._"

"_Because she betrayed Stitch_!" Shouted Kixx.

"_She endangered Lilo_!" Came Yin. All she did was ask if she could sleep in the shelter for the night.

"_And she'll betray us too if we let her stay here. She made me evil—forced me to do horrible things against my will— all because Gantu told her to_!" Roared Richter, even louder than the others. "_And she might do it again_!" By that time, she realized that there was no way she could stay with them, so she left. Not in a huff, not with a slam of the little makeshift door, but just noticeably angry, which she knew wouldn't affect them—if anything it would make them more accusing.

"_Angel wait_!" Slushy called, running out into the rain behind her. She was glad it was raining; the drops hid her tears. "_Where are you going_? _You don't need to leave—you can stay, I'll _make _them let you stay._" He grabbed her arm, pulling her back—back into the place where she was dubbed the worst thing on the face of the planet.

"_It's all right._" She replied, smiling to him, and slipping her arm out of his hands. But it was obvious she was heartbroken; her cheeks were puffed and her voice was upset. He was amazed she was able to _remotely_ pretend like she was unaffected. "_I don't need to stay here, I'll find another place. It'd be better if I did, you're all too cramped as it is, and plus-_"

"_Stop kidding yourself, Angel._" He spoke pleadingly. "_You _know _that's not right. _I _know you're not evil. And if you think even for a _second _you're evil, just because they _say _you are, then everything I saw in that hanger was a _lie." She shivered in the rain, bawling a fist and squinting her eyebrows down to further recess her closed eyes. Suddenly, in the last five minutes, every ounce of grief inside of her slowly turned into anger, and she was beginning to find herself getting angry at Slushy for trying to help her. He held onto her hand again. "_Come on, stay with us. It's not safe to find another place_."

She broke away from him, and ran. He yelled after her, chasing her, but she was too quick. If she was getting angry at Slushy, she knew that her feelings were being thrown out of her control, and she didn't like it. The only thing she could do was leave the feelings behind; go somewhere else. But they chased after her, along with Slushy, which made her panic and run faster.

The blur of the rain mixed with the blur of her speed was eventually what led to the rushing flood. She tumbled down a hill, and just as she reached the bottom, the roaring wave took her into its will, and tossed her every which way for what could have been miles. She wound up, some time later, hugging onto the knotted tree in the leafy meadow, which was flooded with water at the time. Eventually, she found her way through the woods to the house, desperate to see someone who didn't care if she was good or evil. She was fortunate to have found that someone, and even more fortunate to find two of those kinds of persons.

She felt happy—relieved. She escaped the erratic anger and meaningless frustration, and replaced it with a half-true story and tasty bowl of ice cream. She _did_ want to go back to the others, however, but she wanted to wait. Wait until she was ready; wait until she had an explanation.

All they had to go by in their accusations were the events that took place in the hanger, but for some reason that seemed to overpower her retorts. It was a real shock for her; she never expected them to bring that up simply because she requested to stay for a night.

But she didn't want to explain about the past; she wanted to forget about what she did—both her trickery in alluring all the other experiments with her musical trance, which almost got Stitch seriously injured.

And then there was that monster—Achie-baba Kino. He was now something of a stigma to her. She had made the same mistake twice; she resorted to trickery and deceit not only once, but a second time, and Achie-baba Kino was the product of her mistakes, molded into a monstrous being meant to harm her. She wanted to forget about all that and pretend it never happened, but she couldn't put it behind her until she convinced the others that those were all mistakes.

"_Mistakes…" _She thought as she trudged along. _"It seems like somehow I always make them."_

"Can we take a break?" Came Lilo's voice, tired and panting. Angel's mind snapped back to the present, and she realized that her eyes were watery and her cheeks were a little puffy. She tried to pass it on as irritation from the heat and bright sun.

"Oketaka." She said, turning around and rubbing her face, getting rid of the muck in her eyes.

"Miga beat." Stitch said, sitting down on a shady rock and rubbing his toes. Lilo set her half-full water bottle down and looked around.

"I gotta go to the bathroom really quick, I'll uh…be right back." She half-mumbled, and wandered off into the foliage. Angel nodded without thinking as she sat down on a rock opposite Stitch. She stared at a tiny flower in the ground a little bit beyond her feet for a moment, but then she looked up at Stitch and realized he'd been watching her. He smiled when she noticed him, almost like he wasn't fully paying attention to his gazing at her.

"Ju rekista?" He asked.

"Gaba ju chiva?" She asked back, trying to suppress the uneasiness in her voice. Stitch said nothing, but pointed to the corners of his eyes. Angel wondered what he was doing, but then she felt a tear form in the spots where he was pointing to in his eyes, in her eyes. She immediately wiped them away, giving a recomposing laugh. "_I was hoping you'd forgotten._" She confessed, now understanding what he was getting at. "_I'm fine, I was just thinking, that's all._"

"About Lilo finding out?"

"_No…I'm not too worked up over that. I'd rather it not happen—rather take care of it myself and not have her worry—but there's nothing I can do about that now._" She replied.

"Then…what?" He asked, with a friendly tone.

"_I was just remembering what happened…that's all. And…thinking about other things._" He looked down at the little flower near her feet, the expression on his face cluing Angel that he was using her answers and his observations to help understand what happened without having to ask her and dig too deeply. "_Don't worry about it ok_?" She begged.

"Huh?"

"_I know what you're thinking, and I know you want to help— and I appreciate it— but I don't want it to bother you._"

"But Angel…Stitch only wants to he-"

"_Thanks, but no thanks._" She was surprised at her tone. She sounded almost stern and angry. Was she getting mad at Stitch like she had gotten mad at Slushy? She shook her head. _"Don't be angry at him; why are you getting angry at him?"_ She rubbed her eyes again. _"Maybe it's not that I'm getting angry at him…maybe I'm just venting it out on him." _She looked deep inside herself, trying to figure out if that was it. There wasn't really an answer. "_I'm sorry_," she apologized, "_I'm just a little frustrated. It seems like…lately…I've realized I'm making a lot of mistakes—a lot of big ones—and it just gets on my nerves a little._" Stitch smiled with understanding.

"Stitch understand. When Stitch feel that way, Stitch sometimes tell Scruff how Stitch feels and Stitch feels happy again. Otherwise Stitch just feel grumpy." He told her. Was that it? Was she getting angry with everyone because every time she thought about it, she kept it bottled up inside? She was never straightforward in telling anyone about how she felt, even to Stitch.

_"You're right…" _She thought to him. _"Maybe I'll talk to Scruff…after we get back…a very long time from now…" _


	8. A New Face

Ganazu

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 8: A New Face

Evidence of the flood was more prominent as they walked for a few minutes more. Angel announced before they continued on that they were almost there. She was more prepared after the break, and ready to approach the makeshift cabin that was beyond the next hill. And like the slope, her view on the situation was starting to arch upward.

It didn't seem so impossible; maybe they were just a little startled from the flood. She admitted she would probably do something similar if there was a natural disaster occurring. It was even possible that they wouldn't be there; they may have already left.

"Is that it?" Lilo asked, pointing to a small, rundown looking cabin made of thick, fallen trees and leaves. Sunlight reflected off of remnant water that hadn't yet evaporated as she examined it.

"Eh." Angel replied, hopping onto a fallen tree. It looked abandoned from what she could tell. She jumped off the tree and landed in a small trench with a _plop_ on the saturated earth. Mud spattered her chin and limbs, and she blinked to protect her eyes. As she continued on, she heard another straight _plop_, and then after that a sliding noise, then a soft _thump_.

"Agata!" Stitch yelled playfully, and picked up a ball of mud.

"Hey!" Lilo screamed, as the clot it her shoulder, and sprayed across her neck. "This means _war_!" She waged, picking up a ball of her own. She chucked it at him, but he squished down and stuck out his tongue. However he was met with a second volley, straight in the face. He froze, tasting the bitter mud that dripped off his nose and landed on his tongue.

Lilo laughed and pointed, but soon felt two blows of impact: one to her stomach, the other to her neck. She froze too, her arms were up, and her hands were near her head. The cold mud dripped off her fingertips, elbows and chin as she gave a wide-eyed look of shock. She turned toward the direction of where the attack originated.

"_And victory is mine._" Angel said with a bow. _Splat! _"Ah!" _Splat! _"_Hey_!" _Splat-splat-splat! _Angel struggled to block the assault, but it came too quickly. Soon she found herself eating her words in the form of thick, bitter dirt.

"Who's victorious now?"

"Yeah!" Angel wiped the mud off her eyelids and smiled.

"_I am_!" She yelled triumphantly, lunging onto both of them, splattering a wall of mud that evened the damaged. The playful screams and echoing laughter soon drew a curious onlooker. The doorknob twisted as the battle outside went on, and the door opened to reveal a half-asleep Slushy blinking his eyes into focus in the early-afternoon sun. A distance away, he observed the war going on against the raised dirt wall that was carved out by the flood.

"Hey! Isa Slushy!" He heard his name exclaimed by a familiar voice. All at once the commotion stopped, and three brown and black creatures casually walked forward. Slushy blinked a few times, and then realized who said his name.

"Stitch?" He asked, shutting the door behind him as he stepped out to greet them. "Gaba ju shaqueesta chaki?" He asked with friendly surprise.

"Hey Slush," Lilo said with a wave, "long time, no see."

"Eh. _What brings you out here_?"

"Actually, we came to ask you—and the other cousins—for a favor. Are they all still around?" Slushy gave a nod and pointed to the shack. "Cool. I'm going to go in and talk to them real quick." She said, smiling through the mud on her face as she walked past him.

"_Should we come too_?" Angel asked.

"If you want, but why not just stay out here? It'll only take a sec." Lilo's voice receded into the door as she shut it. A sort of uprising came from inside, after a moment of quiet mutter, and then it silenced with Lilo's voice. Slushy and the others stood outside; Angel looked around at the mess after she shook a lot of the mud off of her.

"_Everyone ok_?" She asked Slushy.

"Eh." He replied casually, leaning against the door. "Ju? _I looked everywhere…but couldn't find you._"

"Oketaka. _I found my way to their house. Told ya I'd find a place to stay._" Slushy smiled and nodded. Stitch was looking around curiously, observing the condition of the land while Angel and Slushy continued their conversation. "_Has…anything changed_?" She asked, her voice lowering a little bit. Slushy looked down, and replied after a moment of silence.

"…Naga." He said with a sigh. "_They're pretending like it didn't happen._"

"_And what about you_? _They're not angry at you too, are they_?"

"_Oh no,_" he replied sarcastically, "_They don't even notice me._" Angel's eyes drooped a little bit. "_Don't give me that look. It's not your fault._" He said with condolence.

"_I know…it's just-_"

"All right guys, come on! We've got practice to do!" Lilo announced, slamming the door against the wall when she opened it. Slushy had jumped with a heart attack out of the way onto the roof of the shack. One by one, a line of experiments marched after Lilo; apparently they agreed to play as a band.

_"I wonder what she said…did she even mention me?"_ Angel thought, as she saw the line come nearer. Lilo passed; Angel tensed as the space between her the first experiment steadily shrunk, until finally he laid eyes on her—lo and behold, of all the possible one's to see her first, it was Richter.

"_You!_" He shouted sharply. All the other experiments stopped and stared at the brownish-pink figure standing next to the brownish-blue one. Lilo turned around to see what was going on. "_What are _you _doing here_?" Angel looked to the side. She thought she was ready for it, but in reality she wasn't at all. She looked at Stitch, and he gave her a nod. Though he did it reflexively, it seemed to help her.

"_You're in the band, right? So am I._" She responded solemnly.

"Rich, what's the matter?" Lilo asked, approaching him. He looked at her, and blinked his eyes.

"Soka." He replied. "_I can't be a part of the band. I wish I could, but…anyway, I have to get going._"

"Well that's ok, maybe you can come see the rest of play. How 'bout it?" She proposed cheerfully. But behind him, the others seemed to have an expression of second-thought.

"_Actually,_" Angel said calmly, through gritted teeth, "_I have a feeling none of them will want to be a part of the band, Lilo._"

"What do you mean, Angel?" Lilo asked, stretching her voice and scratching her head with confusion. "Why not?"

"_Did you happen to let them know that I was a part of the band also_?" Angel asked.

"Well, no, I just told them situation and they happily agreed to he-"

"Come _back _here!" Echoed a voice from afar, which snapped the immediate attention of Lilo, Stitch and Angel. Then, a moment later, the other experiments gave recognition to the interruption. "I said come _back_ here!" A blaster shot fired, and—from the sound of it—missed.

"Gantu." Stitch said lowly. The earth trembled underneath their feet. Stitch, Lilo, and Angel jumped up on the hill, and were greeted by a running force. "Angel!" Stitch yelled, as she was hit by the green blur, and knocked back down to the mud puddle below.

Angel opened her eyes, clearing the mud away from them, and looked up at a new face. A pair of charcoal-black eyes stared down at her for a moment, then looked up and behind as if watching for something. On the back of the new face's head, and continuing down the back and arms, were a few thick, purple, horizontal bands.

"Soka," apologized the female-experiment's voice, "_I didn't see where I was going._" She continued, helping Angel up to her feet.

"_It's all right._" Angel spoke kindly, wiping the mud away.

"Where are you?" Gantu's voice echoed. The new experiment looked back at the carved, mud wall with fear.

"Ebasa," she begged, turning back to Angel, "_that person is after me_!_ He's been chasing me and shooting at me ever since this morning_!_ Can you help get rid of him_?"

"You bet we can!" Lilo shouted from above, her body unseen by the rise of the mound.

"Eh." Came Stitch's voice in agreement.

"_Don't worry, we'll shake him. Just leave it to us._" Angel said reassuringly, climbing back up the mound. The new experiment followed her up, but didn't stand all the way. Instead she observed while hanging from behind the dirt wall.

"Oh _great_, it's the trog and his little pet earth-girl." Gantu said with dismay as he approached. "And…624?" He asked with surprise.

"You bet we're here, and we're gonna kick your butt!" Lilo shouted, shaking a fist. Stitch said nothing, but let his actions do the talking. He ran forward at full-speed, and jumped onto Gantu's head. But the blubber-face was too quick, and he plucked the little blue monster from his brow as soon as it landed. "Stitch!"

"You know, you have a pattern in your attack. My advice to you is to stop going for the head." Gantu said arrogantly, staring into Stitch's eyes. Stitch promptly shot a mixed bullet of mud and snot at him. "Yuck!" He grunted, tossing Stitch beyond the mound.

"_Hey, don't toss my booch_!" Angel yelled, running up at Gantu in a similar manner as Stitch. However, she spiraled under his feet, and landed on her back, facing toward his rear. With a lunge of her shoulder blades, she launched from her back and catapulted a kick right to the backside. He fell forward, and Angel caught the blaster that flew from his hand.

"Told ya we'd kick your butt!" Lilo shouted with a laugh. While this occurred, on the other side of the mound, outside of the fray, a certain new experiment was overlooking a very strange sight. Stitch was on his back at the end of skid marks made from where he'd landed, and where he'd dug into the ground.

At first, when she ran to see if he was all right, he appeared fine. However, a moment after, he suddenly began to look ill. He started to sweat, and when he tried to get up he only managed a little bit before he fell back down. She lifted his head, and trying to see if he went into shock, and felt his pulse—erratic. His chest began to heave, and his closed eyelids began to twitch. In a few moments, his entire body was starting to quiver, and his pulse was increasing faster still.

"_You two_!" She shouted to Lilo and Angel, in a calm yet unstable voice. "_You're friend, I think he's in shock_!" Lilo turned around, not hearing what the new experiment said over her own laughter. Angel pointed the gun at Gantu and smiled with dominance. He hastily stood to his feet, and smiled back at her calmly.

"You can't hit me, without this." He said, holding up the cartridge of plasma. Angel's ears drooped, and so did the blaster, and Gantu took his chance to take the gun from her, and knock her out of the way. He then turned his attention toward the new experiment, who was at Stitch's side.

With a gruff he loaded the blaster with a cartridge from his belt, and fired, ensnaring Stitch and the new experiment in a net. Lilo turned back to where Gantu was, surprised to see him on his feet again. He bounded past her, and she tumbled off the mound to avoid getting stepped on.

"Hey! Let them go!" She shouted, recovering from her tumble.

"I win this one!" Gantu announced triumphantly, as he picked up the net holding the two experiments in a glass container while on the run. He bolted past the other experiments, crushing the makeshift shack under his tremendous feet, and jumped into his escape ship that conveniently passed by overhead. "Nicely done, 625. You're timing was perfect." He commented, buckling himself in. "And lucky me; I accidentally caught 626." He said, patting the glass container that housed the netted experiments.


	9. Angel's A Cousin Too

Ganazu

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 9: Angel's A Cousin Too

"Well _that _worked." Lilo huffed, as Angel helped her to her feet. She dusted herself off and sifted the chunks of mud out of her hair. "I wonder what the new experiment thinks of us _now._"

"_Well, we'll have to ask her when we get her, right_?" Angel asked rhetorically.

"Right. Now let's see…Gantu's ship headed that way," she pointed in the direction where it disappeared into the blue sky, "and that's toward town…so his ship should be…"

"_Somewhere northeast._" Angel said, pointing.

"I was gonna say there," Lilo pointed northwest, "but we'll go your way." Angel nodded with a smile, and started to walk, while Lilo went to pick up her water bottle. As Angel passed the cluster of experiments, Richter let out a gruff growl, and stepped in front of her. She paused and took a half-step back.

"_What is it_?" She snapped calmly. "_I'm in a hurry to rescue Stitch and that new cousin, in case you have noticed._" His eyelids slowly narrowed.

"_From what I've seen, I've noticed a lot of things._" He said lowly. Angel lifted an eyebrow and twitched an ear.

"_I see. You're very observant._" She complimented sarcastically. He squinted his eyes more noticeably.

"_You're not going._" He stated bluntly. Angel lifted her other eyebrow, so he decided to be clearer. "_You're not going to rescue them._"

"Perda?" She asked, a little irritated. "_I think I am._"

"What's going on Rich?" Lilo asked, stepping into the conversation while adjusting the strap that hugged her neck.

"_I don't trust you, Angel._" He said, ignoring Lilo."_Until I see proof that you're on our side, I won't let you go. I don't even think you're going to rescue them. I think, once you're far enough away from us, you're going to capture Lilo too._"

"What about me?" Came his referred, wanting in on the situation concerning her.

"Nugga-sha!" Angel shouted, overwhelming Lilo's question. Lilo's eyes widened, wondering what in the world they were talking about that got her friend so angry.

"Hey, Angel what's-"

"_What's to _say _you aren't_? _I'm supposed to believe that just because you tell me you won't, you won't_! _I think everyone will agree with me that you helped Gantu catch that experiment, and Stitch in the process._" He said, assuming the voice of the other cousins. Angel glared at Richter, unable to believe his accusation. "_You had a chance to stop Gantu, but you paused and lowered the blaster, and undoubtedly _let _him knock you out of the way so he could get to the cousin._" Angel's left eyelid twitched. Was he _blind?_ Did he _miss _the fact that she had no ammo in the blaster?

"Angel…?" Lilo asked, as Angel turned around and took her by the wrist, fed up with trying to reason with ignorance.

"_We're going to rescue Stitch. I'm done here._" She announced to her friend, softly. Lilo followed, though she didn't have much of a choice. Richter stepped behind them, but Slushy jumped in front of him.

"_Out of the way_!" Richter demanded.

"_You're pathetic._" Slushy told him, with a degrading tone of voice. Richter glared. "_Get angry at me all you want. It still doesn't change the fact._" He looked behind him to see Angel and Lilo well on their way.

"_What fact._" Richter snorted.

"_I don't know what you have against her, but I think it's backing up your accusing her of being evil._"

"_What do you think you're saying_?" He retorted, with a slightly dumb tone, as he didn't quite understand what Slushy was talking about.

"_You know what I think it is_? _I think you're afraid of her. She's got the power to turn you evil any time she wants, and you're scared of it. Every one of us knows that you're the one that started the uprising the other night—even she knows that._" Richter's eyes trailed, and Slushy saw his opening."_I'll admit, I'm a bit afraid of that happening too, but after what I saw in that hangar, I know that isn't gonna happen anytime soon; Angel's good, and I don't know what's blinding you from that obvious fact, but whatever it is better get outta the way and let you see._"

The other's looked at Slushy with different expressions; some were surprised, some were angered, some were merely apathetical, pretending they weren't paying attention to what was going on; but all of them knew that Slushy just hit the nail on the head.

"_I'm just looking out for my cousins._" Richter said boldly. "_I don't want to see anyone else getting turned evi-_"

"_Don't you see,_" Slushy spoke slowly, suppressing the frustration that built up inside him with Richter's response, "_that Angel _is_ one of our cousins_?" Richter paused. Slushy relaxed his eyelids. "_Call me evil too if you want, but I'm going with Angel. After all, she's a cousin too._" He announced, his tone flat and tired. He turned, took a few steps forward, but then stopped and turned his head back to look at them all.

"_Of all of you good guys, I'm apparently the only one that's got the guts to go. Maybe it's because I'm the only one cold-hearted enough to help my friends._" He stared off to the side for a moment, shrugged his shoulders, and casually continued on. The other's watched with bewilderment at his sudden change in attitude, but they all got the same message. None of them did anything further as Slushy took in a giant breath, and rocketed into the air.

"…Wow…" Lilo said softly, as Angel turned her face, which was on the verge of tears—and Lilo finally understood why. "I had no idea…" She continued, not sure whether Angel wanted to be left alone or pet on the head. She decided to try and cheer Angel up by taking her side. "That's not right. They shouldn't-"

"_I know._" Angel interrupted softly, running a hand over her scalp, lifting up the fur that stuck together in chunks because of her sweat.

"But then…why didn't you tell me before? You, me, Stitch—we could've solved the problem. They know what's right and wrong, they're just a little edgy."

"_I was going to give it time, and talk to them after the floods died down,_" Angel explained, now returning to normal, "_but after what just happened, I think they've got their mind's set._"

"Then I'll help you. It's no big deal; it's just a misunderstanding. You've got two very reliable sources to back up your 'I'm not evil' explanation, so if we just reason with them they'll understand."

"_Correction._" Angel said, attempting to change the subject, "_I've only got one source now. We need to rescue the other one._"

"Right." Lilo said with a smile. They continued on for a while, making their way to Gantu's ship. At one point, they were walking side-by-side, and discussing how they would infiltrate _this _time, when all of a sudden, Angel felt Lilo's presence disappear.

"_So then maybe we should go through the right duct parallel to the…Lilo_?" She asked, looking around, wondering where her friend was. It was completely impossible—she could swear Lilo was by her side a moment ago, but she was looking ahead and didn't really notice that Lilo was gone until just now. _"Did she go use the bathroom again, and I just missed her telling me_?" Angel thought, scratching her head.

"Hey Angel!" She heard Lilo shout. Angel looked around, but didn't see anything. But then—by accident, really—she looked up, and saw Lilo was in the air, and with a closer look, saw Slushy behind her. When did he come into the picture? "I think he's offering us a ride to the ship!"

Stitch shifted as he felt his arm. The movement allowed him to feel other parts of his body as well. Slowly, the feeling of his legs, nose, mouth and ears came. He opened his eyes, but found they wouldn't open as quickly as he would have liked them to. Despite how much concentration he used, they would only open bit by bit.

"_Thank goodness_." Came a relieved voice to his right. He turned his head, but couldn't make out the source of it through the blurry vision, other than a green blob. "_I thought you'd never wake up_."

"G…u-budga?" He asked slowly, his voice breaking a bit.

"_Me first. Are you all right? You looked like you were in pain before, do you feel any now_?" Stitch had to think for a moment to give the voice an honest answer.

"Stitch fine." He replied, his vision clearing. The blob started to take shape; he noticed the two ears, but everything else was still merged together. Obviously, it was a cousin. "What happened?" He asked.

"_It looked to me like you went into shock_." The voice sounded female to him. He could see her eyes now.

"When?"

"_A while ago, actually. It's a long story, if you feel like hearing it I'd be glad to tell you._"

"Eh." He replied, closing his eyes. She obviously wasn't going to harm him, so he didn't need to keep an eye on her.

"_Well, you do remember jumping onto Gantu don't you_?"

"…Eh." He replied, after recalling the memory from the black fog in his mind. How long ago did that happen?

"_Well, after you were lodged into the ground, I came to see if you were all right. At first, you said something about you being fluffy, but then you started acting funny. Your pulse increased, and you started shivering like mad. That's why I think somehow, most likely when you landed, you went into shock_."

"Where is here?" He asked.

"_I'll get to that_; _there's more_." She said. He nodded. "_I tried to tell those other two—the pink one and the odd looking one—that something was wrong with you, but then I suddenly found myself trapped inside of a net. Then I realized you were in there with me. Your condition got worse, and you kept mumbling something…'Lilo, help', think it was_." She paused. He didn't seem to comment about that, so she went on"_Then, we were moved. The next thing I knew, you and I were thrown in here. If you'll look around, it's some kind of cell_."

Stitch opened his eyes again, his vision noticeably clearer. He was looking up at the ceiling, and already he understood where they were. The sleek glass barrier above his head that showered down beyond the back of his eye, and past that barrier was the black metal that made the ship belonging to no other person but Gantu.

"Oketaka, Stitch understand. But, who is cousin?" He asked again.

"Miga?" She asked back rhetorically. He nodded again. "_I'm 600_." He turned to look at her, and could finally make out her features; she was sitting cross-legged against the glass wall, her hands resting on her knees. Her ears twitched along with her nose, and a smile formed as she saw him look at her. He couldn't quite tell from his blurry vision, but she almost looked shyly at him. Was she being bashful? "_And who are you_?" She asked him playfully.

"My name Stitch." He said, sitting up. Fluid in his head sloshed for a moment, and he felt a little dizzy, but after a very intense blood-rush he was back to normal.

"_Well then, nice to meet you…I think._" The new experiment commented, looking about at their surrounding. Stitch scratched his chin, and turned around, facing toward the glass. "_What is it_?"

"Getting out." Stitch said bluntly, crawling to a stand from his knees.

"_You can try._" She said. "_Maybe you'll have better luck than me. Should be an easy escaping too, no one's around._" Stitch was about to use his claws to cut into the glass, when he stopped at her comment. She was right—_no one _was around, not even 625. "_Is something wrong_? _You look a little puzzled…_"

"Cousin right. No one here…something wrong." He said, tapping the glass. Surely Gantu would have at least put 625 on guard; he escaped so many times that even that loafer was better than nothing. So then why? Why wasn't anyone on guard? "Trap." He said, coming to the blatant conclusion. "Should stay here." He advised her, sitting back down

"_A trap_? _Are you sure_?"

"Not really, but better safe than soka." He told her.

"_So…what do we do_? _Just sit here_?"

"Eh." He replied, crossing his legs. "Wait for Lilo and Angel."

"_Who_?"

"Friends of Stitch. Wait for them, rescue us."

"_You're sure they're going to_?"

"Oh yeah. Sooner or later." He nodded, confidently.


	10. Apology

Ganazu

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 10: Apology

"Well, it didn't go exactly according to plan…" Gantu explained.

"…That was to be expected I suppose." Hamsterveil said with an unsurprised sigh. "What happened then; go on and tell me what went wrong."

"Well sir, you see, we ran into _all _of the experiments."

"_All _of them! How did you manage to run into _all _of them? You only needed to find out where _she _was, not the entire batch of do-gooders."

"Well she was apparently with the trog and little girl. I wasn't counting on chasing them down too."

"Please tell me that's all…"

"Well, no…" Hamsterveil sighed, leaning on his elbow and signaling Gantu to continue. "You see, I decided to capture her there, save us a little time, but unfortunately, I got 626." Hamsterveil's eyes bulged, and then relaxed.

"It didn't go according to plan at all." He groaned. "Why can't things just go right for once?" He drummed his fingers on the table, off screen. "We may have to improvise. We can't capture her yet; they're not ready. Where do you have 626?"

"He's being held in the transport station. He's unconscious and she's in there with him. The side-effects of the AC's seem to be bothering little trog, even though the robots have been extracted."

"And this is a bad thing?" Hamsterveil asked rhetorically with a smile. "If this is true, that means that 624 might still be under similar influences as 626. We'll have to ask her if she's feeling…a bit abnormal." He grinned at himself. His invention was truly genius; even the failures were starting to work out, at least a little bit. But his pleasure didn't last long. "Well, you probably know what's going to happen next. Be ready, they'll come at any moment. Let it go their way, but give them a struggle, and let her go with them."

"Right."

"We will make contact later. Stealth is of the essence now." Both of them heard a noise, something banging against metal. "They're here." Hamsterveil chimed, cutting off the feed.

"Don't _do _that Slushy! You're hands are like ice!"

"Soka…"

"_They _are _ice, Lilo._" Angel muttered with a chuckle, ushering them to continue on through the ventilation system. Lilo rubbed the sore spot where she banged her head, and followed Angel's lead. Slushy stayed a bit farther back, careful not to bump into Lilo's feet again. They continued on for a bit longer, Angel listened for any noises that might let them know Gantu was aware of invaders, and she was especially careful to make as little noise as possible, in case Gantu heard Lilo's bang.

_"Gantu said he's being held in the transport chamber…that's this way if I still remember correctly." _She thought, changing directions in the shaft. Within moments, she came upon a grate that loosely suctioned cool air into system. _"So far, so good."_

Angel approached the grate, and with nervous claws, began to unscrew the corners. Though it was hard, her trembling fingers slipped over the bottom of the screws constantly, and it was very hard to be careful not to unscrew too far, or else they would fall out. Finally, after what seemed like hours, all four screws were loose and the grate was ready to be taken in.

Angel took a deep breath, and lifted the grate so slowly that her arms started to get tired from holding its weight over the long period of time. But she had to be too careful; if Gantu was there, and he spotted them, they would end up in the transportation chamber as well. Angel placed the grate beyond the opening, then leveled her ear to listen to what was going on down below.

"Best not to talk about anymore, Gantu might hear." Came Stitch's voice, muffled slightly from the glass.

"_Right._" Came another voice, slightly unfamiliar. "_So, how do you know Gantu_?" Angel tilted her head down, enough so that her right eye could see if the coast was clear. Gantu wasn't coming, and hopefully he wasn't making any rounds.

"Stupid-head try and capture cousins. Stitch, Lilo, and Angel stop him. ...Except this time…" Angel caught a glimpse of the two in the chamber. They were sitting against the glass on opposite sides, idly conversing as though getting imprisoned were an everyday event. Angel looked down; the computer was right below her. If she was nimble enough, she could get them out without even _them_ noticing her.

"_I see. So that's why he was chasing after me. Why is he capturing cousins_?" Angel shifted in the shaft, turning over onto her back.

"_Hold my feet, please._" She whispered to Lilo. The little girl looked back at Slushy, and he backed away to give her room, as Lilo took Angel by the ankles. He moved close enough after they were situated so that he could catch Lilo as backup in case Angel fell.

"Hamsterveil want cousins to do evil things," Angel lowered herself down slightly, but flinched at Hamsterveil's name, causing her to lurch. Her heart thudded in her chest, but Stitch didn't pause, "so Stitch and Lilo help cousins out—like 600." Angel relaxed, and slid farther down, her hands still hooked around the lip of the opening. She looked up at Lilo, who gave her a thumb's up.

"_I'll bet you get that long-eared fur ball good every time_!" Angel glanced over again, catching an upside-down glimpse of them sitting in the cell. They still apparently hadn't noticed her. Angel took the time to see the new experiment.

_"Great." _She thought, noting the cousin's gender. _"He better have already told her he's got a boochie-boo…" _Stitch gave an upside-down look of curiosity.

"600 seen Hamsterveil?" He asked. The new cousin seemed to immediately look nervous to Angel, but she was more concerned with freeing the new cousin and Stitch than to worry about conversational reactions, and besides, her arms were starting to get tired.

"_Uh…no_," Came 600's reply, "_just a wild guess. Lucky me._" Angel wondered why she sounded so secretive all of a sudden, like she slipped information or something.

_"Concentrate." _She thought, stretching her neck to look down at the keyboard of the computer directly below her. It was too far down for her to use her arms. Besides, she needed those in case she had to drop quickly. Luckily, she was built for this type of thing—or her perhaps cranial antennae were just a coincidence.

Either way, they were useful to her now. She let her fingers go; only giving a slight _clack, _as her body swung like a pendulum. She felt Lilo tighten the grip around her ankles; Angel felt there was no problem; Lilo wouldn't drop her.

Slowly Angel gave her antennae life; they curled up, and then they moved over to the console like blind fingers searching for a light switch in the dark. Very carefully she placed them on the keys, but it took her a great deal of effort—it was like working with her recessive hand while it was tied behind her back. She managed to tick the first two keys, but that was as far as she got.

"_Well, speaking of Gantu, here he comes._" 600 said, almost warningly. Angel's eyes bulged, and she felt the grip around her ankles tighten.

"Hey!" Gantu yelled. Angel looked at him, but she knew why he was so alert—he'd spotted a pink piñata hanging from the ventilation duct, a roman candle to him. Angel saw him whip out his blaster.

"_Lilo, drop_!" She yelled, and felt the grip around her ankles instantly disappear. She held her hands out in front of her, and landed on the keyboard while flipping over to keep from falling on her head. Her reoriented, dexterous fingers were a blur as she quickly ticked away a command on the keys before she briskly leapt out Gantu's crosshairs just as plasma burst from the barrel of the weapon.

"Give up Gantu! We're gonna beat you bad!" Lilo yelled, as Slushy helped her down from the duct. Angel rolled to recovery and crouched low to the ground, ready to dash for the "release" button as soon as she got the chance.

"Oh yeah?" He said with a laugh, "You couldn't win before, what makes you think you can win now?" He pointed the blaster at Lilo, and fired. Angel's poised stance catapulted her to Lilo in an instant, and she knocked the girl out of harm's way. Unfortunately, the blast hit Slushy who was just now getting out of the ventilation duct. He scattered to a dozen shards of ice in a daze.

Gantu grinned, eyeing his targets that were on the ground. Angel crouched on one knee and one foot; she tried to get Lilo out of the way again, but he had already fired. Reflexively, Angel's hand moved over Lilo's foot, and in the blink of an eye the plasma round exploded in mid-air. Lilo blinked, and saw the charred remains of her left-foot sandal on the floor. Gantu fired again without pause, and Angel repeated the tactic with Lilo's left-foot sandal.

"I lose more sandals that way…" Lilo casually sighed.

"_Got anymore_?" Angel asked, while Gantu grunted and took out the empty cartridge in his blaster. Angel looked over to the transport chamber when she heard a chinking noise and saw Stitch banging his head against the glass, trying to break it. She wished he could help her, but he was trapped until she set him free.

"Any last words?" Gantu asked, aiming a freshly fed blaster at Angel.

"Uh…we're sorry?" Lilo said. Gantu gave a laugh, aimed, and fired. But the bullet missed Angel and Lilo completely, and instead shot the ground in front of Gantu's feet. The cause of the miss was due to an erratic tremor that knocked him, and everyone else, off their feet.

"What was tha-" Someone began to ask, but a loud bang and another tremor interrupted him or her. This time it was fiercer than the last, and it was also complimented by the sound of tearing metal. A fraction of a second later, as everyone got to their feet, pandemonium rushed into the room in the form of a horde of experiments.

'Splodey-head and Kixx were the first to arrive. The purple pig headed straight for Gantu while 'Splodey seemed to fire an "attack" flare toward the small entrance of the room. Yin and Yang then entered, spraying water and lava on Gantu while Kixx held him still. The water had cooled the lava just enough so that it hit Gantu without hurting him. Rather, it put him in a cocoon of pumice.

Lastly, Richter bounded in, giving a loud roar, his feet pounding loudly against the metal floor of the ship. He came to a heavy _slam_ right in front of Gantu's encased body, beveling the metal with the force of impact, and then with a powerful wind-up, he slammed his tail against the pumiced whale, breaking the shell and startling the captive held inside. The rest of them were in the room as well, poised to attack.

Angel, Slushy, who had finally reformed, Stitch, Lilo, and 600 were all frozen with surprise at the sudden ambush. _"What's going on?" _They all generally thought. Angel's mind didn't hover over the question for long though; she had a rescue to finish. Finally she took the chance that had opened up to her a long time ago, when the first wave of experiments arrived, and ran to the console, slamming the final button down to lift the glass over the transport chamber.

"_C'mon, we're getting out of here_!" She yelled, taking Stitch by the hand.

"Knew you'd come." He said softly as she passed. Kixx took Gantu, his body still unresponsive from the shock Richter gave him, and followed the others out of the ship into the river. They passed through the water and climbed the hill by the side of the fall. Once on top, Gantu finally came to his senses and realized where he was.

"Hey, what-" Kixx grunted toward Richter, who readied his tail. The earth trembled, but quickly quieted to let everyone hear the whale's scream as he flew into the horizon. All the cousins cheered, and formed a semi-circle around Angel and the others.

"Wow…what a rescue!" Lilo exclaimed with excitement, jumping in the air.

"Eh! Ichie-kobeesta go 'yah!'" Stitch commented, giving her a high-five. Angel was mixed with the emotion—she was still trembling from the adrenaline and dizziness of hanging upside down; she was relieved now that Stitch and the new cousin were out of Gantu's hands; and she was also slightly worried. The question rang through her mind again.

_"Why did they come?" _

"Angel." Came Richter's voice curtly, as he stepped up to her with a stolid expression.

"Rich." She replied in the same manner. She expected him to say something about how evil she was. She would let him say his say, then shrug him off; she didn't want to deal with any more stresses today. But, to her misjudgment, he lowered his body down to the ground and looked back at the others.

"_We…_" He began, clearing his throat. "_The other cousins and I…we want to apologize._" He said.

"Eh." Came a staccato of murmurs from the semi-circle behind him. Angel's ears twitched, and she looked back at him, not sure how to respond.

"_You don't need to say anything_." Richter continued, answering her expression. "_We only accused you of being evil…because we were afraid you would make _us_ evil again. And then after we heard about that Achie-baba Kino, we thought we were going to be hunted like animals, especially when we heard you were involved with it…_" He trailed, his mind forgetting the rest of what he wanted to say. He knew it was important, but he could only draw a blank. He decided to skip it. "_Anyway…we're really sorry. And we understand if you don't forgive us._"

"Eh." Angel's eyes started to blur. She blinked the tears away and tried to smile humbly.

"Isa…oketaka." She told him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "_I forgive you._" Lilo and Stitch looked at each other, and smiled, their eyes also a little blurry. Both of them didn't fully understand what had happened that night of the floods. Really they knew only two definite things: there had been a mistake, and it was resolved. To them, the latter was all that mattered.


	11. All In The Past

Ganazu

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 11: All In The Past

The kitchen was dark as Nani entered, shouldering the phone to her ear. She reached for the light switch, but when she flipped it, nothing came on. She grumbled and moved the phone to her hand, going to the hallway and using the light there.

"It's going to be on the outside stage in town." She said, putting the flyer for the performance on the hallway table. "Are you going to be able to get there in time?" She asked, walking back into the dark kitchen. The sky outside the window glowed with the colors of twilight. "Thanks, David, it'll mean a lot to her if you come.

"Yeah," she said with a laugh, "they've been practicing non-stop since last Thursday. I'm surprised; for a bunch of experiments they're pretty good for a band. You should hear her; she and Angel are wonderful. …Actually no, they didn't want me to hear it, but I snuck out of the house. I'm so excited! …Ok, I'll see you in a few hours, then. …All right, fine, it's _a date_. Bye."

She smiled as she pushed the button to end the call. With an anxious sigh she walked over to the dark wall and put the phone back on the cradle. She then looked at the kitchen light-fixture, which had been burnt out for a day or two, and muttered to herself that she needed to fix it while she sat down at the table.

"Akatooka!" Came a startled yell.

"Whoa!" Nani yelled back, flinching to a stand. "Angel?"

"Uh huh?"

"Sorry about that, I didn't know you were there." Nani apologized, taking another seat. She checked it to see if anyone was sitting in it beforehand, however. "What are you doing here in the dark?" She asked, her eyes getting used to the dimness. The light in the hallway illuminated Angel, and to Nani she seemed bored, or down.

"Acabita simie-ju…sedega." She replied with a low tone.

"Waiting for what?"

"_You _can _understand me_?"

"Well, a little bit, yeah." Nani replied with a smile. "I _have_ to be able to understand sometimes if I want to live here in piece. I might be a little slow, but I can put it together well enough." There was a slight silence in the atmosphere, and Nani was beginning to wonder if Angel even listened to her.

She was staring off into the distance; her body was definitely in the kitchen but her mind appeared somewhere else. Her ears were down and flat over her arms, which crossed under her chin. Nani thought wrong—Angel didn't look down; she looked _depressed_.

"Is something wrong?" Nani asked slowly, shifting from a relaxed tone of voice to a concerned but friendly one. There was a long pause before Angel responded, and when she did she sounded reluctant.

"Naga…isa nagatusha."

"Hm…" Nani said rhetorically, "Dark room, head down, distant look and long pauses during response. Doesn't sound like 'nothing' to me." Angel's eyes shifted and stared back at Nani blankly.

She barely knew Lilo's older sister; she only saw her during mealtimes. Otherwise she was out—working or going to the store. There were a few occasions when Nani spent a little more time with them, but recently the rehearsals and practices for the performance had blocked her away for the past three days, with the exception of her apparent eavesdropping.

In fact, now that she thought about it, this was the only time since she'd moved in that she and Nani were ever alone. It struck her as sort of odd, but that didn't stay for long. The overwhelming feeling took her over again fairly quickly.

"There's no use in hiding it, something's got your attention." Nani's voice came again, this time a little softer, and sympathetic, "Not to sound pushy or anything, but," she continued suggestively, "maybe you should tell me what's on your mind? It might make you feel better." Angel didn't take so long to respond this time around.

"_I already told Scruff…that helped a little…_"

"Well then, maybe it's something that needs a little response to. Scruff's ok to talk to, but I hardly ever get a response out of her." Nani said, trying to sound convincing. Although, what she said was somewhat true—on occasion she would get her frustration out on Scruff whenever Lilo left the stuffed doll downstairs and she happened to be fuming at the time.

"_It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just…it's a long story._"

"Can you at least tell me how you feel?" She requested, waiting not too long, but also not asking too quickly.

"…Mala…" Angel replied, choosing the most vague word possible.

"Why so sad all of a sudden? You've been pretty energetic the last few days. And what could you be sad about? From what I've heard, the problem between you and the other cousins was resolved, and not to mention you were the one that took the initiative to rescue Stitch and the new experiment." 600 came into Angel's mind; the cousin hadn't shown up for days. She disappeared during the rally, and despite their search they couldn't find her.

"_It's not anything that happened recently…it happened a long time ago._" Angel explained, trying her best not to mention anything specific. But it wasn't necessary; Nani wouldn't be able to understand what was bothering her at all, or so she thought.

"Oh, a past-reflection is it?" Angel looked back up at Nani. Why was she carrying the conversation with Lilo's older sister? She hardly knew the woman, and here she was telling her how she felt. But, even though it felt awkward—talking to a slight stranger—part of her seemed to think this would help. "You don't need to tell me exactly what it is…but can you tell me why it's bothering you?"

"_That's just it…I don't know why it's bothering me. It was a mistake I made…a really big one. I made a choice and it hurt a couple of people._"

"That _does _sound bad." Nani stated with an emphases that made Angel pause.

_"Is she humoring me?" _She thought. _"She sounds like she either doesn't care, or she's really paying attention." _ But that little part of her that told to speak before urged her to go on again. "_Well, yeah, it was. But, those people already let me know that it was all right. They told me it was all in the past. So I tried to forget about what I did, but the memory is like Myrtle; the harder you try to ignore her the more you realize she's affecting you—the harder I try to forget, the more I remember._"

"And you're sad because you don't know why you keep remembering whatever it is?" Nani asked, after taking a few seconds to confirm her translation.

"Eh." Angel replied. "_It's all supposed to be forgiven and forgotten…but I can't forget. It still troubles me, and I want it to stop._" There was a long pause after she finished, her ending tone in a growl. She finally looked back at Nani again, and saw that she was looking back at her, with an expression of deep thinking on her face.

"I don't know exactly, but I think I might know what you're problem is." She said, breaking the silence. "You don't have to listen if you don't want to though, that's completely up to you."

Again the questions of why she was telling Nani about her feelings came to her mind. But then, the question of why Nani was even paying attention to her came afterward. She didn't ask Lilo's older sister to sit down and listen to her—Nani did it voluntarily. In fact, Nani almost begged her to explain.

"_I don't mind._" Angel told her openly, without hesitating. She was curious about what the source of the problem was—she didn't think anyone would be able to identify it. After all, she couldn't, and it was her own problem.

"You've done a good job to resolve the mistake you made with the other people, but I think the problem lies somewhere deep inside yourself." Lilo's sister told her. She paused for a quick second, and then continued. "I can't exactly quote my mom, but she always used to say something like, 'If you ever want to forget your mistakes, you've got to apologize to the ones involved—especially yourself'." Angel's ears twitched, she repeated the phrase to herself in her mind.

"_Then, what you're saying is, if I want to put the mistake behind me, I've got to forgive _myself_ for making it_?"

"You know what?" Nani said rhetorically, leaning over and rubbing Angel's head. "I like you're version of the saying better." Angel tried to smile, but it didn't make it all the way to the corners. Nani's hand quickly receded, and then she appeared to go into her own thoughts. Angel immediately began trying Nani's method.

"_Forgive myself. How do I do that though? Do I just tell myself it's ok? It's ok…helping to create Achie-baba Kino? _

"_No…it's not Achie-baba Kino. That's a mistake, but that's one I've made up for already when I talked to Scruff. This has to be something I overlooked…something I'm forgetting." _She strived to think, closing her eyes. _"Was it because I tricked Stitch; walked him right into a trap?" _

"_He walked into it because he chose to." _A second voice came, answering almost as if it was waiting for her to ask that question. It was that part of her that forced her into telling Nani what was bothering her. Did it know something? _"You warned him, remember? You met him in that gigantic leaf-bed, and told him about Achie-baba Kino—told him there was a trap waiting for him."_

"_That's right." _She said, recalling the foggy memory. _" I felt guilty, so ran and told him, but then I left him again. I only warned him…when I should've told him not to come." _Nani saw Angel's eyes relax a little. _"But he wanted to save me, that's why he came. I bet even if I had told him not to come, he would have. But I didn't realize how wrong it was until long after the explosion." _Her left ear lifted a little; she was getting somewhere.

"_Nah, you're wrong." _Chimed that little voice again, which brought her ear back down. Nani shifted, but Angel didn't notice. _"You didn't realize what you did _after _the explosion—you realized it when felt guilty about what was going on. You knew it was a mistake by the time you warned Stitch."_

"_But…if that's true, then why did I only warn him about the trap? I would have told him everything and at least tried convincing him not to come if I had that realization sooner." _She mentally retorted.

"_He didn't even hear your warning; the only thing he heard was your plea for help." _Angel felt a ping of truth in the voice's sincere words.

"_I wanted…help." _She told herself. _"And he knew it, even when I didn't. He wasn't angry in the hangar because I led everyone into a trap—he was angry because he wanted to get everyone out of it, to save me and everyone else. And maybe that's why he wanted me to stay with him; so that he didn't have to worry about me."_

"You've got a couple of great friends." Nani said, "And with all the dangers you guys get into, rescuing experiments and all that, I'm glad you're all there to help each other out." Nani said softly, seemingly out of the blue.

Angel blinked her eyes, coming back to the kitchen. She realized she wasn't sad anymore—a smile was on her face and she found herself sitting back in her chair. When did she move? And when did the sadness go away? She tried to think, but she couldn't remember—she forgot. "That didn't take too long. You're a lot quicker than Lilo."

"_You knew what was bothering me all along didn't you_?"

"What are you talking about?" She replied with a wink.

"That's what I want to know…" Came Lilo's voice. Stitch wondered in, shook himself, and turned on his night vision in response to the pitch-black kitchen. "What's everyone doing in the dark? Didn't you fix the light Nani?"

"Not yet, but I'll get on it tomorrow morning ok?" She replied, her tone changing back to normal. "You'd better hurry up, we've only got a couple of hours left to get ready." Her big sister advised.

"Yeah, c'mon Angel, it's your turn for a bath." Lilo ushered, rushing toward the stairs. Stitch followed, and the two of them proceeded, holding a conversation of their own. Angel moved out of the seat, and went to the light of the hallway. She paused, and turned her head back at Nani.

"_Thanks_."

"All right," said Pleakley as he took the pen from out of his mouth and lifted up the clipboard, "we've got Kixx on the keyboard, Stitch and 'Splodey on the electric and bass guitars-"

"I believe the pronunciation of that particular word is similar to base—as in, impenetrable stronghold. Not the pronunciation of oddly shaped aquatic creature with big mouth's name."

"I believe I'm the earth-expert here, Jumba, and I also happen to be the manager of this band until the show's over. Now stop talking nonsense. Do you job and make sure the stage is set!"

"All right, all right, am going." He said, waving his hands and stepping away sideways.

"Now, where was I? Oh yeah. Yaarp and Yin are on the flutes, Rich's on the drums—where's our finale-drum?" He yelled. Cannonball turned around, and jumped across the back of the stage to him, trying not to fall through the floor. "Right, you're over there." He nodded and took his position. "Ok, then we've got Angel and little Lilo on vocals-"

"Pleakley, Pleakley, I can't find my pendant!" Lilo yelled quickly in a panic above the other animosities on the stage as she jittered toward him. "Have you seen it anywhere?"

"I think Stitch had them last, go talk to him."

"Thanks!" She yelled back, already running at the mention of the name.

"Again, let's see, we've got Cannonball…Sample's getting hooked up—we've got our amplifier. And last but not least is—Slushy,"

"Eh?" He asked, passing by while Pleakley called his name.

"Where's you ex-why-lo-phone?"

"It's pronounced like 'eye' but with a 'z'; xylophone!" Jumba's voice corrected him from behind the back leg of the stage.

"Whatever!" He yelled back. "Where is it?" Slushy looked at him for a moment, his mouth in an "o", and then finally shrugged. "Please don't tell me we forgot the phone-thingy…" Pleakley sighed with frustration.

"Naga toe-chiba." Slushy said, holding up a hand. He took in a breath, and as he exhaled, created a xylophone of ice. He blew the sticks in his hands, and pinged his creation. A smooth, calm, chrysalis-sounding note filled the air.

"All right, I guess that works."

"I appreciate you helping us out, Mrs. Pleakley." Moses said politely, stepping up onto the stage. "Are we ready to begin?" Pleakley adjusted his wig and glanced around the stage. Aside from Jumba rushing to the curtain-rope, everyone was in place. Lilo, he spotted, had found her pendant.

"Let the show begin!"

"How long do we have until we're on?" Lilo whispered nervously. Angel shut the eye-sized hole in the middle of the curtain.

"_He's almost done. Are you ready_?"

"Do I _look _ready?" She asked, the butterflies in her stomach were screaming.

"_Yeah, you do. Just _remember _the tricky part._"

"I know, I know, I won't mess up, I promise." She replied with a rushed breath. Her shoulders quivered. "I can't take this…"

"_Calm down, calm down, you're fine._" Angel told her, trying to quell the nervousness in herself.

"And now, before our show is over, we have one last song for you. And one of our singers tonight, was actually fortunate enough to know this wonderful band, and was happily willing to arrange them on such a short notice. Everyone, our last performance tonight; Lilo and Angelica!"

The lights went out, the crowd cheered, and the curtain opened. All at once Lilo's nervousness and trembling was forced to a stop, and a rush of excitement and energy started, taking the place. She realized that she didn't think while she was singing; her mind felt strangely detached, like she was getting sleepy. The words and movements of the song seemed to come to her as though they were laid out on the stage prior to the show, and all she was doing was picking them up and using them when their time came.

As quickly and as quietly as it started, the music stopped. The crowd—which Lilo now noticed, and felt was practically all of Hawaii—was overwhelmed with a giant tidal wave of a scream. Judging by the noise, she assumed she didn't mess up, but she couldn't really recall—it happened so slowly and quickly at the same time. Backstage, after the final bow, the curtains closed, and Lilo fell over, pretending like she was too weak to walk.

"_Are you all right_?" Angel asked with a laugh.

"I can't believe I did that…I thought I was gonna flop." She answered, standing up. She and Angel moved away from the clutter of instruments and departing crowds, to a quieter corner of the stage.

"_Flop nothing, you did great_!" Angel exclaimed on their way over.

"I couldn't have done it without your help, _Angelica_." She said with a tease, well aware of how much the name seemed to make Angel cringe. But she got a completely different reaction; Angel looked at her with a smile, and brought her into a hug.

"_That's what friends are for—helping each other._" Angel replied solemnly.

"Bonsai!" Stitch screamed. Lilo and Angel both looked up just in the nick of time to see him jetting toward them through the air a split-second before he playfully knocked them down.

**Atichura**

**(The End)**

"Friendship" coming soon


	12. Lyrics

Ganazu

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Lyrics: "Solo to Duet"

(Well someone mentioned lyrics to the song Lilo and "Angelica" sing, so I thought "Hey why not?" Though, I'm not as good a poet as I am a writer, but I hope this turns out all right. --Kenjaje)

Sometimes, when the feeling gets us down,  
All we can do, is dig a hole and hide underground.

But there's an easier way, and you don't have to escape,  
All ya have'ta say (is—)

"A-loha!" "A-loha!",  
It rings in the air.  
"A-loha!" "A-loha!",  
It's said everywhere.

Never isn't a time, never isn't a place;  
If ya don't know it's meaning, you're losing this race.

"A-loha!" "A-loha!",  
It rings in the air.  
"A-loha!" "A-loha!",  
It's said everywhere.

Never isn't a reason, never isn't a way;  
We could all come together under one simple phrase,  
A-loha— (A-loha—) A-loha— (A-loha—)

And now that you know just how easy it is,  
To lift up your head up from beneath the beach sand,

It's a nice thing to do to help someone else out, just remember (Remember—),  
All ya have'ta say is,

"A-loha!" "A-loha!",  
It rings in the air.  
"A-loha!" "A-loha!",  
It's said everywhere.

Never isn't a time, never isn't a place;  
If ya don't know it's meaning, you're losing this race.

"A-loha!" "A-loha!",  
It rings in the air.  
"A-loha!" "A-loha!",  
It's said everywhere.

Never isn't a reason, never isn't a way;  
We could all come together under one simple phrase—  
A-lo—A-lo—A-lo-ha.


End file.
